The Power of Gratitude - How My Gratitude Ritual Helps Me Overcome Life's Challenges

In our Post-Covid time, it is easy to lose sight of the most precious parts of our lives. Unfortunately, many of us got our butts handed to us during 2020. If you were one of those people, know that you are not alone.

Now, as we approach 2022, I feel incredibly strong and ready to take on the world. One thing that has continued to help me is my gratitude ritual. Below, I talk about my ritual and how it helps me feel blessed every day. I thought it was worth sharing again.

By the way, one of my five gratitude this morning was a hot cup of coffee on a cool fall morning. Gratitude doesn’t have to be a huge gesture. Sometimes it is just the small things that put a smile on our faces.

The Power of Gratitude

Originally posted on GA Interior Solutions on 11/26/19

Recently I changed my morning routine to include a gratitude journal, and I have to say, it is helping my daily mood and helping me better focus. So let me start from the beginning. Over the past year, as I have been working on launching my business, I have listened to several business podcasts.

Nearly all are talking about the power of writing what you are grateful for every day. At first, I just thought that if I think of what I am grateful for each morning, that is good enough. But, let’s be honest, I don’t have a lot of extra time in a day to be warm and fuzzy. Boy, I was wrong. I am not even sure I can explain it to you, but I am going to try.

I am a pretty grateful person. Randomly I will think of things I appreciate and feel blessed to experience. As I drive home across the overcrowded highway, I see the sun setting on the Rocky Mountains, which is pretty amazing and something worth seeing. I am grateful I live in a beautiful area. Snow is falling this morning, and I am grateful that I work from home. I am also grateful my husband is in town today, so he can snow blow the driveway.

After attending the Rise Business Conference this month in Charleston, I came home with a Rachel Hollis Gratitude Journal. So naturally, it was included in my conference bag. Now, Rachel has mentioned a time or two (or a million) that writing down what you are grateful for each day, along with your goals, as if you had accomplished them, will help you develop both personally and in business. Damn, if she wasn’t right. (BTW, I love Rachel.)

I can’t begin to tell you the craziness that has happened this month since my foot hit the steps into my house following the flight back from Charleston. I literally landed, drove home, and got a text my mother was in the hospital. Within a few hours, she was moved into ICU. Then, I was back on a plane to Indianapolis.

Seven incredibly stressful days of waiting for doctors, sitting in the hospital, managing my mother and her need to text at 3 a.m., taking care of her pets, finding a foster home for her pets, and touring rehab facilities would send anyone to drink heavily by 10 a.m.

On the first morning, I started using the journal. Every morning, I sat down with my first cup of coffee and thought of five things I was grateful for. It made me set aside the crazy stress I was going through to think of positive things.

One day, it was watching the ducks float around on the pond behind my dad’s house. The sun was shining, and the ducks were just swimming back and forth across the pond. It was soothing to watch. Somehow, writing this simple thing down, along with four other things, gave me strength for the day.

Since returning to Denver, I have continued the morning gratitude ritual. I told my husband the other day that I think there is something to this journal. Rather than getting up first thing in the morning, immediately stressing about my laundry list of to-dos, I am taking 10 – 15 minutes to look for the positive things. I drink my coffee and think about what is good in my world. In just a few minutes, I am feeling rejuvenated and ready to conquer the world.

The other part of the journal is writing down your goals as if you achieved them. This was completely silly to me at first. I just didn’t get it. But damn it, it freakin’ works too. I should never doubt Rachel again.

Writing down my 10 goals as if I achieved them gets me in a focused frame of mind. I start my morning actually focused on what I need to accomplish to reach those goals. I immediately begin thinking of each task and whether it will move me toward accomplishing the goals.

If not, then the task goes to the bottom of the to-do list. Now that is not to say every task I do gets me to my goal, but it does help me weed out the items that aren’t that important. When you have a list that feels overwhelming, putting things into perspective can help you focus.

With Thanksgiving two days away, I thought I would share my top 10 gratitude posts this month. Maybe it will inspire you to think gratitude and change your perspective of the day as well. (By the way, if I thought my husband would use it, I would buy him one too. As there are several mornings that he could use an attitude adjustment.)

• My husband works for a major airline, so I can fly home to Indianapolis at a moment’s notice.
• My warm and cozy home on a snowy morning
• The Uber driver that was not afraid to drive in a snowstorm to pick us up from the airport
• My husband desire to constantly protect me
• For having a direction and purpose even when I don’t know the answers
• A wonderful dinner with my in-laws after a crazy week sitting at the hospital
• My teenage son’s amazingly good attitude while away from home and our routine
• Coffee at my kitchen table as the sun rises after being away from home for 12 days
• Waking up with sore muscles after a good workout
• Unlimited opportunities in my future

Gratitude doesn’t have to be big. Yes, I am grateful for my husband, my two amazing sons, my family, my life, and all the blessings. However, sometimes it is the small things that can help us through the toughest times. Remembering what makes each day unique and wonderful can give you a positive attitude throughout the hardest days.