This is Day 18 of the Advent Calendar for 2015. Open more doors here >>
“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.” A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh
Ah, Piglet. He’s definitely a favourite storybook character – and in this quote he shows us that we are very similar to him. It’s amazing how the heart works isn’t it? In the grand scale of things, our hearts are not all that big, they are a small but VERY important part of us and we can indeed hold a whole lot of gratitude in them.
In our home, at dinnertime, we say Grace. This always starts with my son (who can’t speak yet so our daughter does it for him! Her idea.) and then me, my husband and finally our daughter. We say one sentence each starting with “thank you for…” and it’s lovely. It means that even if you’ve had a rubbish day you’re forced to think of at least one thing to say thank you for – our daughter usually has a whole paragraph.
I think it’s really important to take a moment each day to say thank you for the good things that have happened. It’s not at all hard. Stopping to be grateful is really worth it for the reminder you give yourself of all the good things that have happened that day. Maybe it wasn’t as bad a day as you thought.
[feature_box style=”23″ only_advanced=”There%20are%20no%20title%20options%20for%20the%20choosen%20style” alignment=”center”]
Tweet this: A Very Small Heart can hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.
[/feature_box]
Record gratitude
A great thing to do is when something good happens to write it down somewhere so you can look at it later – or write about the things you’re grateful for at the end of the day. So during the day you could add things like:
- successful phone call
- sent all my emails!
- great to speak to my Dad
- drafted my newsletter
- got a new client
- great testimonial from X
- lunch was really tasty
- the sun shone
- met five new people at the networking event this morning
Looking back over that list at the end of the day and the following morning will help you realise what a great day you’ve had and motivate you for the next day!
Some people swear by a gratitude journal, my Goal Setting Planner has space for gratitude every week, popping things in your diary, just writing on the back of an envelope – do whatever works for you. It’s nice to look back over the months or the year too, you can track your progress and be reminded of good things!
Show gratitude
Another great thing about gratitude is not simply having it, but showing it. Saying thank you isn’t just good manners, it makes people happy. When you do something for someone and they say thank you, doesn’t it make you feel good? Think of the people who’ve helped you lately – have you said thank you? It might just be a tweet, or you might feel that their efforts are worthy of a handwritten card or a box of chocolates. Whatever you do, you’ll be sure to help someone feel really great because you took the time to appreciate them.
Alternatively, you can grab some free printables right here to fill out and give out 🙂
Be grateful for your health
On another note – being grateful for things is really, really good for your health! Check out this article to read about how “gratitude can, among other things, help you exercise more, sleep better and be happier.” The article links to scientific studies to prove all of this, including that being more grateful helps you to be more productive and to achieve your goals!
It doesn’t matter how small you feel you are, you can still hold a large amount of gratitude. Don’t forget to say thankful, be grateful and show your appreciation – you’ll be happier, make others happier and sleep better as a result. Wonderful.
In the comments: What or who are you thankful for right now?
