"Gratitude is a way of life."

Some of the happiest, most abundant, most fulfilled people I know are the most grateful. They have a genuine appreciation for the goodness in the world around them and seem to live in a positivity bubble that insulates them from the chaos?of the outside world. I believe that we would all benefit from embracing gratitude as a way of life like they do.

While positivity is something that appears to be based on your personality, I’ve found that it’s something that can be trained. You can intentionally build your mindset to be more grateful, and to start to see the world through a lens of more positivity.?

The way that you do that is by being intentional about finding reasons to be grateful. It’s the consistency of consciously scanning your day and finding the goodness and blessings that you begin to see it unconsciously too. You start noticing the good things that are happening in the world instead of the bad because you’ve literally trained your mind to.?

There are two different depths of gratitude journaling that I’ve incorporated into my life and that I encourage you to try:

For those who are just getting started, it’s as simple as finding 3 things to be grateful for a day with prompts: One thing about your health and body that’s functioning well for you, one thing about the people in your life who’ve made an effort to support you, and one about your circumstances and how good you gave it compared to those less fortunate.

For those who are more advanced, you can try a reframing gratitude practice. It’s also a daily discipline where you recall something that didn’t go well, that was far from ideal and created inconvenience, sadness, frustration, or anger… And you choose to see the breadcrumbs of good within it.?

You get in a car crash and realize how lucky you are to survive, and have insurance. You lose a deal in business and find gratitude in being aware of the weaknesses in your pitch. You get in a disagreement with a loved one and appreciate how most of the time you resolve conflict amicably.?

It's not easy to do, but it's possible, and very effective in shifting your mindset. It’s the conscious reframing of something that impacted you negatively into something positive that you begin to start seeing failures through a more empowering lens.

In any case, being grateful is a super power because it shapes your perspective to find more possibility, hope, opportunity, and goodness in the world. That’s the type of world we want to live in, and it starts with making that the reality of our world. Do that by getting in the routine of intentional gratitude journaling, and soon you’ll be embracing gratitude as a way of life.”