Lucky you! GRATITUDE is FREE, it can be practiced anywhere, anytime and It’s good for your health. Don’t overcomplicate it. Don’t be overwhelmed by it. It’s simply taking time to be grateful for certain people and things in your life like; you being ALIVE (since the odds are estimated to be 400 trillion to one) in a healthy able body, your Mum, your Dad, your wife/husband, your kids, your pets, a roof over your head, clean water to drink, the sun shining on your face, a reliable car, the smell of jasmine in the air and the list goes on.

WHY GRATITUDE
Why have a gratitude practice? Because it keeps you in the PRESENT appreciating all of the GOODNESS in life. You have no control over what has already happened or what will happen in the future and that can lead to MAJOR negative VIBES, like stress, anxiety and depression. Being GRATEFUL feels good. Take a minute and try it. No writing, just think. Do it now. How do you feel?

#JUSTDOITDAILY
I started a gratitude practice about a year ago. Only I didn’t realize it was a “practice”. I wrote down about 80 things that I am grateful for, and added reading it out loud to my daily morning ritual and I also read it before I go to bed (Transparency: sometimes I pass out and miss out on my second round for the day). I had no idea I was “PRACTICING” though. I just kept doing it, over and over and over. It became a HABIT. However, recently at a personal development conference I attended, we were asked to write down our gratitudes for one minute. The people who did it on a regular basis had a much longer, contemplative and detailed list than those who were new to the idea. The GRATITUDE FLOWED out of me quickly and effortlessly as it did for others who practice regularly. The more you do it, the easier it becomes, the faster you can get into “a state of GRATITUDE”. Practice makes you BETTER, more PROFICIENT and more SKILLED. Imagine that:)

HEALTH BENEFITS
Here is one reason why a GRATITUDE PRACTICE is good for your health, Dr. Libby Weaver nutritional biochemist and one of New Zealand’s leading wellbeing expert explains “It is impossible to feel grateful and stressed at the same time. Adopting an ‘attitude of gratitude’ is a powerful way to start your journey into stress management. When you are feeling grateful, you are present, safe and experiencing delicious, love based emotions, stepping away from fear and stress.”  Just think about all of the feel good chemicals you are producing…For FREE! Hungry for more health benefits? Check out what the University of California Berkeley has to say about it by clicking here.

BEGIN TODAY
Start with a blank sheet of paper and a pen. Take as much time as you need to write down a list of 50 people and/or things as that you are grateful for and read it, OUT LOUD every morning when you wake up. Over time you will add to it. It’s FLUID, it can change. Then shoot for morning and before bed. WARNING: As you practice, gratitude tends to seep into your day too. For example, while your teenage daughter may be disagreeing with you, all of a sudden you’ll think, “I have a teenage daughter who is healthy and smart enough to have her own opinions…WOW!” Imagine how your day would IMPROVE if you started it and ended it with GRATITUDE. The Law of Attraction says what you focus on GROWS. Want more GOODNESS in your life? FEED IT.