Choosing Appreciation and Gratitude

“As each day comes to us refreshed and anew, so does my gratitude renew itself daily.” – Adabella Radici

Love this quote! The problem is, sometimes a grateful mindset isn’t quite so automatic. In fact, many of us have gotten into the habit of holding a cynical, doubtful, pessimistic mindset more often than a grateful or appreciative one.

The solution is obvious: CHOOSE to be appreciative and grateful as often as possible.

photo credit: lisadragon

When you wake up in the morning, think of one thing that you appreciate or feel grateful for. Do the same thing before going to sleep at night. And all day long, try to remember to look for things to appreciate rather than waiting for them to come to you.

It does take effort at first, only because you may not be used to thinking that way.

But the more you do it, the easier it gets. Your appreciative thoughts will attract more things to appreciate. Your gratitude will attract more things to feel grateful about.

Another technique to help you remember to appreciate throughout the day is to connect appreciative thoughts with something that occurs frequently. For example, every time you walk through a doorway you will think of one thing to appreciate. Or every time you drink some water, every time you sit down, or get into your car, and so on.

You may still have to keep jogging your memory for awhile, but a strong appreciation habit will begin form the more you keep working at it.