When its very easy to look at some of the negative things happening around us over the last year, I have found one of my favourite daily rituals is to keep a journal of the things I`m grateful or thankful for. I usually do this last thing at night. As the list tends to be quiet lengthy, its a nice peaceful process to end the day with and seems to help with better sleep.
I listened to a podcast recently with Fearne Cotton called the happy place. Her guest that day was Jay Shetty, a marketing entrepreneur from America. If you don`t know Jay Shetty, he lived as a monk in Monastery for 3 years and wrote a book about it called "Think like a monk". Interesting take away from the podcast reinforced that I was perhaps doing the right things by routine to stay sane and healthy during Lockdown...
Jay Shetty`s acronym for the day was TIME. The letters stand for:
T= Thankfulness
I= Inspiration
M= Meditation
E= Exercise
There are lots of academic articles around on Positive psychology that say that being grateful or thankful can have real therapeutic benefits.
So what would be your 3 Things for today?
Replies
Morning Brian
Having positive thoughts is a way of reinforcing our behaviours and making positive changes. I have been listing mine for the day before going to sleep wihch is to allow the sub conscious mind to file away good things last, and sets up the next day on a forward note. Adding daily gratitudes is more more becoming a useful way to appreciate - often the little things in life - like being brought a cup of tea or hearing from an old friend and how these can make such a difference.to us.
J
Nice to hear from you Jackie and a great way to appreciate the small things that can make all the difference in a day. B
Really good article Brian. I've been listening to Gin Lalli's podcast 'Empty the Stress Bucket' and she highlights the benefits of thinking about what has been good in your day / week to get your brain in a positive mindset and shut down the negatives.
Thanks Keith. Anything that gets positives ahead of negatives can only prove useful.
Great post, Brian! I love the idea of daily gratitude. Great reading through all the answers as well.
Today I'm grateful for the lighter mornings, a good cup of tea and good nights sleep (thanks to our new mattress).
Thank you for the podcast recommendation - I've heard many good things about Fearne Cotton's podcast and will add it to my library now!
Brian, thank you for sharing. I really love this. I've always tried to by Monty Python-esque about looking on the bright side of life. In the spirit of that 1) If I'm locked down at home, at least it's with all my favourite people in the world. 2) Hearing nature coming back to life, and seeing signs of Spring on early morning dog walks. 3) Laughing every day. Thanks for this post. Look forward to seeing more answers.
Good Morning John. Thank you for your thoughts. So much good in a day, if you open your mind and look around. Love the reminiscing on Monty Python. All the best
I love this. Yes, gratitude is so helpful to feel better. I love Brene Brown's talk on Netflix about this. Did you see it?
Good Morning Susan. Thank you for sharing about the netflix talk. I haven`t actually viewed that yet. I will seek it out however. Take care
I do this every day too! I also write down something good that happened yesterday and something I am looking forward to today. Today I wrote I was grateful for the lighter nights, my first tea in the morning and walks with friends.
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