5 Steps to become a pro at Gratitude.

‘‘Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out ’’– Robert Collier

Gratitude.

An absolute buzz word within the wellness community.

Also, an absolute essential to our overall contentment and outlook on life. The idea of finding time each day to sit down and write down multiple things to be grateful for can feel like a really big task, however, that is not the case. Follow our 5 steps below to become a total pro!

I like to think of Gratitude as a type of muscle – a small amount of consistent practise can help it grow and ‘use it or lose it’ is also the case.

For me, Gratitude and Yoga are the two daily practises I directly attribute to overcoming and gaining control of my anxiety, panic attacks, and irrational thoughts. There are an abundance of studies which show that a consistent practise of daily Gratitude can literally re-wire your brain! How cool is that?!

If you commit to just 30 days of consistent daily Gratitude using the below steps, you will begin to notice the benefits and shift your thought processes for the better…

Step 1: Start small

When you are starting out it can be tough to find more than one thing to feel truly grateful for and that is perfectly ok! Start with just one thing a day if that’s what you need to do.

You will find overtime, with consistency, three things will pop into your head without even needing to give it much thought.

Step 2: Have a specific journal for Gratitude.

This is so important, imo. If you choose to use your ‘everything’ journal that is filled with shopping lists, to -do’s, reminders etc. it will be really difficult to focus fully on cultivating a feeling of Gratitude.

It can be hard to be grateful when you have a mile-long to-do list visible on the oppositepage!

I have been using The Head Plan’s Gratitude notebook for almost a year now and I have to say I would definitely recommend! I love the layout, size, and prompts.

It is, of course, absolutely fine to create your own journal if you find that pre-made ones don’t fulfil your needs. Any blank journal can be fit for purpose, there is no right or wrong tool to use.

Step 3: Be grateful for the little things in life

When I first started practising Gratitude it would not be uncommon for my lists to include simplistic things such as ‘Woke up today’, ‘Seeing the sunshine outside’, ‘Breathing’. Sometimes it really is just the simple things in life! You are not competing with anyone. Each Gratitude does not have to something abstract and unique. This is for your eyes and your eyes only.

"The greatest ideas are the simplest." - William Golding

Step 4: Fit your habit into an existing routine.

For something to become a daily habit consistency is key (I Highly recommend reading James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits, for a real breakdown of why we do what we do and how we can change our habits). The best way of achieving this is to have a specific time and place each day that you practise.

It can be helpful in the beginning to fit Gratitude into an already existing habit such as brushing your teeth or waiting for the kettle to boil/machine to heat up for your morning coffee. Do you scroll mindlessly on Tik-Tok for the 2-3 minutes these daily habits take?? If so, leave your Gratitude journal in your bathroom or beside your kettle!

I promise filling in those few minutes with Gratitude instead of scrolling will set you up so much better for the day than social media ever will.

Step 5:  Try to be mindful of your thoughts throughout the day.

This step is probably the hardest to practise as it can be hard to catch thoughts and change them when we are used to a certain way of thinking (this is the re-wiring of your brain– it’s not easy ,but definitely worth the effort!)

Being mindful of your thoughts throughout the day and adjusting them as needed is essential to building a more grateful mindset. You will notice that identifying negative thoughts or opinions and finding a more positive outlook will start to happen naturally the more you practice Gratitude, but it is helpful to begin trying to be mindful of your thoughts from the start of your journey.

I also want to emphasise here that I am not saying in every single situation you need to find a positive. There is no denying that some situations/scenarios are just crap. it would be naïve to think otherwise and insensitive to suggest finding positives within them .

Finding a positive in a negative can be something as trivial as being grateful for a few extra minutes to yourself while stuck in unexpected traffic on the way to work, instead of spending those minutes angry about being delayed.

It can seem overwhelming and impossible when starting out but after 30 days of showing up for yourself daily you will be so grateful you started when you did and at the work you have put in! There are 1440 minutes in every day, allow yourself just 5 of those to try these 5 steps throughout November and let us know how you get on.

Until next time,

Little Deer

P.S. You can shop our growing ‘Gratitude’ range here for some inspo along the way.