Many people adopt a practice of writing in a gratitude journal yet after a while they don’t feel like it’s made a lasting difference so they give up on it.
While keeping a gratitude journal can certainly be beneficial, the real benefit comes not from the act but from the integration.
Try this:
Take a moment and list off 5 things you’re grateful for.
How did you come up with your list?
Did it come from your head or from your heart?
If your list came from your head, you likely listed off things you thought you should be grateful for, ticking off items your culture deems important.
Since gratitude is a feeling, the magic of gratitude requires you to access your heart.
Try this…
Take a few deep breaths, tune into your heart, and begin to feel what gratitude feels like. Then list off 5 things you’re grateful for. Pause after each one to feel the gratitude you have for it.
Can you feel the difference between the two techniques?
A practice of gratitude allows you to see all you have to be grateful for in your life right now. Add the feeling of gratitude and you embody it.
It’s no longer about what you feel you should be grateful for (and maybe feel guilty that you don’t feel more grateful for it); it’s about actually feeling the gratitude of what you really ARE grateful for, from a place of your inner truth, which leads to deeper feelings of appreciation and love.
Why is this important?
Because experiencing gratitude makes you feel better. The better you feel, the happier you are. And the happier you are, the more you’re aligned with your heart and soul.
Gratitude for all you have and all you’ve learned and experienced opens your heart, which, in turn, opens you to inspiration…for the next level of your business and next chapter of your life — all in a way that feels good to you.
I invite you to experiment with gratitude.
Move your attention to your heart and tune into the feeling of all you’re grateful for (past and present). As you do, notice how your heart feels more open. From that place, be willing to receive and welcome inspiration for how to solve a challenge you’re experiencing versus trying to figure it out in your head. Feel into how grateful you’ll feel on the other side of the issue and for the people you’ll encounter who will help you along the way.
Your heart has an intelligence of its own. Gratitude is one way to access its wisdom.
P.S. Have I told you lately that I’m grateful for you? …I am! 🤗
