Welcome to Day 16!
According to research, gratitude is one of the strengths most associated with life satisfaction and happiness.It is connected with living a life of meaning. It already sounds like a worthy pursuit, right?
Another thing I have learned is that gratitude and fear can not exist in the same moment. That idea, when I remember to use it, has helped me so many times.
Gratitude is described in the book Character Strength Interventions by author Ryan Niemiec as being aware and thankful for the good things that happen and taking time to express thanks. The essence of it is having an attitude of thankfulness.
Being grateful is learned- everyone is born with a natural set point, but the largest opportunity comes from what is modeled to you growing up and what you learn. Thankfully, we have the ability to learn our whole lives long.
If your gratitude set point isn’t naturally high, or wasn’t something you learned from your environment growing up you, with awareness, may cultivate this strength at any time in your life.
Being grateful is totally high vibe! If you find yourself in a low state, or feeling badly about someone, all you have to do is start listing things you are grateful for and a shift will occur. If you can start naming things about the person you are grateful for, a different approach to the situation will be possible.
If you are feeling down on yourself, take out your what is good about me list and remind yourself, and start listing some ways you are grateful for who you are.
Day 16 Coaching Journal Questions:
-What is your current gratitude practice?
-What is your natural set point for gratitude?
-Who in your life had modeled gratitude for you?
-When do you feel most grateful? What is occurring? How does it feel?
-How can you create more of those instances of gratitude like the one you just wrote about?
Day 16 Challenge:
There are a few levels, you choose!
- Today, list everything you notice you can be grateful for all day long, just to get the muscle going!
2. Start to use your journal to write gratitudes before bed- start with 5, 3 can be about anything, 2 will be about you- what you are grateful to yourself for that day, like what you did well.
3. You can warm up this weekend with gratitude noticing and listing and then next week you can take my Thanksgiving week Challenge which is:
-Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday- write 25 gratitudes each day- they can not repeat.
-Thursday write 100 gratitudes- no repeats.
When I say no repeats, that is for the entire week. It’s a challenge! Some days you will notice writing gratitudes is easy and they just flow, other days, not so much, so be kind to yourself.
Also, writing gratitudes at any time of day is beneficial. The reason I am challenging you to do it before bed is that this is what your subconscious mind will be playing with while you sleep- it is very powerful. Your kind works on how to perpetuate more of those good things you wrote down.
No typing gratitudes, these are all to be handwritten. the brain and hand writing connection is so powerful.
If you keep a journal for gratitudes only, you never have to worry about leaving it out! It is all positive!
I am looking forward to hearing from you on this one!