I’ve added a new task to my daily routine:
Add to my List of Gratitude.
Feeling gratitude for the things in my life gives me happiness.
The task is simple. Open up the Word doc I keep the numbered list and take no more than 5 minutes to add to it. I have to add at least 1 per day, but can add as many as I feel inspired to in that time frame. If I don’t take all 5 minutes, but added to the list and feel good about it, then the task is done.
The more specific I get, the smaller the thing I’m grateful for, the better.
For example, for my children, I might have written I’m grateful for them, but every day as the list grows I get more specific. A recent one says “That Gavin took the time to organize his science notebook into better shape and seemed to understand the difference”. As a new high school student in grade 9, he’s learning how to be a student and I’m grateful for that.
I am going to do this for 1 year, then reflect on the list at the end of the year. I’ll post a new blog entry sometime at the end of 2019 to report on it.
I have over 100 items on the list as of this writing. Already, I get a lot of pleasure from reviewing what is there. Each one triggers a meaningful memory.
Starting every day from a place of gratitude is a great place to start. I’ve already noticed it seems to keep me in a very positive and accepting mindset. I look forward to seeing what comes of it long-term.
