#2: Gratitude…a simple step to get you started
Today we’re talking about one simple step you can take to get you started on your journey towards real authentic happiness. And bonus…it just might be the most powerful!
It’s called gratitude! Listen in to learn how powerful this one little step can be.
Today I want to share with you one simple step that you can take to begin your journey towards authentic happiness. Now sometimes, when we start a new journey or create a new habit, it can seem overwhelming. That’s why having a simple first step is so awesome. It takes away some of that overwhelm.
If I asked you to find a notebook or a blank piece of paper and something to write with, would you be able to do that? I’m guessing that’s probably pretty simple.
Now, if I asked you to write down one thing, just one thing, you’re grateful at this very moment, could you do that?
Believe it or not, that is actually pretty difficult for most people. So to make it a little easier, let me give you a few examples of what you could write down.
Did you enjoy a nice cup of coffee or tea this morning? Did you see the sunrise this morning? Was the sunrise extra pretty? Did you see a pretty flower or tree on your way to work this morning? Did you wake up feeling refreshed? Did you actually wake up? Did you have hot water in your shower? See, there really are a lot of things that you can be grateful for.
Now if you haven’t already, pick something, one thing you’re grateful for and write it down.
Now I’m going to ask you to do the same thing tomorrow morning too and the next morning and the next morning and the next morning and so on. Do you think you can do that?
If you really want to create authentic happiness in your life, then this habit is a great place to start!
Daily gratitude is a habit I implemented several years ago. I had noticed that I was complaining about a lot about the things I didn’t like in my life. I was really good at throwing pity parties for myself. When I was around my friends, we would just start feeding off each other. One of us would complain about something at work and then another one would complain about something at home and then I’d complain about something and we just all kept feeing off of that. We just kept noticing the things that weren’t going the way we wanted them to go.
What I eventually learned is that when I focused on the negative things in my life, when I complained, that’s what I saw more of. The best way I can explain it is with an example.
I drive a red Toyota Prius and I have for over 10 years. Before I bought my car, I honestly don’t know that I had ever seen a Prius driving around my town, let alone a red one. The day after I bought my car, I saw them everywhere, including at a house just a couple of blocks from where I live that I drove by every single day on my way to work.
Now I could say that maybe everyone bought a red Prius on the exact same day I bought mine, but that’s probably not likely. What’s probably more likely is that because I was now aware of a red Prius, my brain began noticing them more.
The positive and negative things in our lives really work the same way. If you focus on the negative, that’s what you’ll see more of. If you focus on the positive, then that’s what you’ll see more of. Wouldn’t it be great to see more of the positives?
To help you stay on track with your daily gratitude, I’ve got a free printable daily gratitude journal for you. There’s one page for each month and a space each day where you can write down one thing you’re grateful for.
Download your free daily gratitude list.
Writing down just one gratitude each day can change your year…and even your life!
What I love about the free printable is that you can print it out and put it in a binder or notebook. At the end of each month you can look back over everything you wrote down for that month. An even cooler thing to do is to look back over the list at the end of the year, or really anytime you’re feeling down or struggling to see the positive in life. What an amazing way to remind yourself of all the things you have to be grateful for!
I’m also sharing the link to my favorite Daily Prayer and Gratitude journal. I was looking for something pretty to write in each day and to have a little more space so I created this journal and published it on Amazon.
Start your Prayer and Gratitude journaling today.
Now in case you’re wondering if something as simple as writing down one thing you’re grateful for each day can really change your life, let me share what happened to me today.
My husband and I have three cats. Lucy is our oldest. She’s 13 years old. When we lost her brother about a year and a half ago. My husband worried that Lucy would be lonely so he started looking for another kitten, well actually two kittens because everything he read talked about how if you’re bringing a kitten in with a senior cat you really need to get two kittens so they can play together instead of antagonizing the senior cat.
That brings us to today and to Ozzy and Leo. We rescued them both just over a year ago as kittens. Lucy and Leo are both gentle souls. They just want to snuggle and be loved. They love being petted. Ozzy on the other hand, totally living up to his namesake. He was a feral kitten when we rescued him.
When Ozzy was a kitten, he really wasn’t sure if he liked humans. Actually I’d probably say he knew he didn’t like humans. You couldn’t even really pick him up without him scratching you. He was just really afraid. He didn’t know we were here to love on him and take care of him.
Now I want to say that he has come a very long way. He let’s us pet him and pick him up but he’s just a little different then the other two, he’s still a bit unpredictable. Every day or so his hunting instinct kind of kicks in and he chases Lucy or Leo around the house. I really don’t believe he has any intention to hurt them because he’s never really hurt either one of them. He’s just kind of trying to play with them and ends up kind of ticking them off.
The best way I can explain Ozzy is he’s socially awkward. He’s a socially awkward cat. He wants to be friends but doesn’t know how to be friends. In his defense, he was raised as a singleton cat, by a human with no other cats around, until we adopted him when he was 8 weeks old.
All three cats were due for rabies shots a few weeks ago. My husband being the hero that he is, decided to take all three at the same time. When he got to the vet, Lucy and Leo were awesome but Ozzy, not so much. He must’ve smelled another animal or something on the vet because he totally freeked out. Thankfully, we had him in a cat carrier because he was hissing and spitting and flinging his claws. The vet wouldn’t even get close to him.
So, we tried a second time. This time we gave him a sedative in the morning and I tried taking him. He did the exact same thing.
We tried again today. This time I gave him a sedative last night and again this morning. It didn’t make a difference because he had the same reaction again. Now to clarify, Ozzy was not being mean, he was just scared and protecting himself from the unknown threat he smelled all around him.
So today, the vet used anesthesia to sedate Ozzy so they could do the exam and give him his shots. Needless to say that doubled, and maybe even tripled, the cost of the vet appointment, plus it was very emotionally draining for me. I feel bad for Ozzy. I don’t like the unpredictability of the situation. It’s just kind of stressful and mentally and emotionally draining for me.
It’s times like these that I just kind of want to be able to walk away from the situation. I want to escape the stress of this cat. I’m a little ashamed to say that I even had the thought that if he didn’t wake up from the anesthesia, life would just be so much easier. I wouldn’t have to worry about Ozzy chasing Lucy or Leo. I wouldn’t have to deal with taking a crazy cat to the vet. Life would just be a little calmer.
This was when my habit of daily gratitude showed up. In the middle of my pity party, my perspective changed. I thought, yeah, this isn’t a situation I’m all that happy about, but I do believe God picked me and my husband to take care of Ozzy. God knew we would be able to handle the crazy and love Ozzy anyway. I was able to say thank you for all the progress Ozzy has made since he was a kitten when we couldn’t even pick him up without getting scratched.
I was also reminded of a dear friend whose brother passed away recently and a high school classmate who is fighting cancer and a former coworker who suffered a miscarriage and so many other people in my life who are dealing with things far tougher than a crazy cat. And so I actually thanked God for my crazy cat, because in all honestly, I woud rather deal with Ozzy then any of those other challenges.
That is the power of a habit like this. Even when you don’t realize you need it, the habit kicks in. That’s the power of writing down just one thing each day that you’re grateful for. This really is the best way to get you started on this journey towards authentic happiness.
So, if you haven’t already, go grab that notebook or piece of paper and something to write with, or go download the free gratitude journal or get the pretty one on Amazon and get this habit started!
If you’re having trouble finding something you’re grateful for, think about the people in your life who are struggling and dealing with challenges. Let those challenges remind you of the things you’re grateful for in your life.
And at the same time, say a prayer for anyone who came to mind. Pray that God gives them peace and comfort and helps them through their challenges. Pray that God opens your eyes to ways you can help them through those challenges. Remember that one of the goals of this podcast is to bring more real authentic happiness into this world.
Episode Resources:
GET YOUR FREE GRATITUDE JOURNAL HERE:
https://bit.ly/todayimgratefulfreebie
GET MY FAVORITE DAILY PRAYER AND GRATITUDE JOURNAL ON AMAZON:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C2S7LX39
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