Celebrations are great. And those who read this newsletter and my blogs know that I am always looking for ways and reasons to celebrate (that must be the Italian in me). So celebrating a day of gratitude is a good thing. But why celebrate one day?
I know this week all of us writers and bloggers will be commenting on what we are grateful for, and how we should all be more grateful. A worthy exercise. But what I thought I would do is share a way to not just talk about it, but to develop a habit to actually be more grateful every day. And a more grateful person lives a happier and more personally successful life (or as I like to say, a life in the zone…).
So, I thought a good use of this week’s newsletters space would be to share a technique I use with my coaching clients – as a means to be more connected to what happens in each day, to be grateful for each event and how to use each event to be better. I’ll share that I personally don’t think everything happens for a reason. Rather, I feel that we create meaning, value and purpose out of what happens. There is always value – and a reason to be grateful – in everything that happens. We sometimes just haven’t learned how to see the value.
So here’s how to create a Thanksgiving (Gratitude) Journal:
On the top of the page (daily) write the date and leave space to write what you are grateful for (you’ll complete this shortly).
Then divide the page into 2 columns. (I still like doing this exercise on paper but it can easily be done on the computer.) On the left side write the title, Good Things; on the right side write the title, Bad Things.
Here is how it works. Each day, record the events you remember under either the Good Things or Bad Things column. Next, under each event you record (regardless of the column), write down the value of the event (what does the event mean to me, what did I learn from it and how did it/can it make my life better?). This could be recording a success, seeing an opportunity, developing humility, learning to be more forgiving, seeing progress on a goal, becoming more loving, etc.
Then when done, review what you wrote for the day, go back to the top of the page and write something you are grateful for from that day. It may even come from the Bad Things list – something that you painfully learned and will now bring forward to live in better way.
Nothing makes you more self-aware than recording your thoughts about your days. And nothing makes you more grateful than to see how much choice you have every day – and that we build our lives each day from the quality of our choices. Learn to see the value in everything and (even if things don’t always go your way), you still have reasons to be grateful. And when things do go your way, never take them for granted.
May this Thanksgiving be the start of a daily thanksgiving or gratitude habit. Appreciate all that happens to you because, easy or difficult, happy or unhappy, it can inspire you to advance and grow – to be your best and bring your best to the world.
Good news should always be shared, and learning to develop a daily gratitude habit is good news. So please share this with someone who can benefit from it and check out tools to help you live in your zone at www.TheGreatnessZone.com.
