I have sadly only recently discovered what gratitude can do for my soul. It's seriously like an awesome foot rub for your emotions.
I have recently downloaded a free app on my phone on which you simply list everything you're grateful for that day. When I've had a good day, I can list 10-20 things. When I've had a bad day, it's a little harder, but I can still usually belt out 5 or 6 things that I'm grateful for that day.
I especially try to do this exercise when I'm in a bad mood. I find that I am able to distract myself almost completely from whatever it was causing my bad mood, by looking at the great things in my life. I also try to list things that are directly related to whatever is causing my bad mood. For example, if my 4 year old son has put me in a bad, stressed out mood. I make a list of all the things about him I'm grateful for. His strong will, the fact that he is more like me than his father, his imagination to come up with some of the white lies he tells.
If I'm in a bad mood due to lack of finances, after reminding myself that we are actually a lot better off than many families, and that once I go back to work in January, money won't be so tight, I start to list all of the things that money has done for us, such as putting a roof over our heads, feeding us and building our first home.
Gratitude is a completely necessary practice for those who want happiness. It helps you to realise that you can be happy with what you have, and you don't need more to be happy. After all, that's what the Simple Life Experiment is all about!
Signing up for IBOT with Essentially Jess!
