I am finally inching my way out of my lovely post-holiday season bubble and into fully owning this exciting new year, a process which includes exiting out of my self-imposed blogging hiatus.
So, other than having finally finished my Art History degree, what is rocking my world these days?
Well, lots of things… and gratitude in particular.
Why? Because as part of a long overdue shift from academic to creative writing, I have discovered a new take on gratitude journaling.
I know, I know… you are so over being told how fantastic a daily gratitude practice is. Quite frankly, so was I… that is, until I discovered a novel approach.
Forget about rattling off a list of things you are grateful for in your head, whilst the bulk of your brain cells are occupied browsing your smartphone or pondering your epic to-do list. Scrap jotting down the same things day after day as if on auto-pilot. Instead,
Pick 1 specific thing, person or event that you are grateful for and then write 5 specific reasons why.
Simples really – like your “5 a day” on the fruit & veg front.
The benefits?
Well, as Marie Forleo explains in her slightly corny (and seasonally out of date) video,
If you want the most ROI for your gratitude practice, the dividends are in the details.
Not only is this way of gratitude journaling backed by actual research, it is the very antidote to “laundry-list” gratitude, at least in my (admittedly limited to-date) experience. It plays to my need for variety to think about a new thing to be grateful for every day, and my inner writer is thrilled to supply the required specificity. It makes me more aware of what was extra special THAT day, alongside the people and things I am already grateful on a daily basis.
Although I have been following this practice only a few weeks, I have yet to hit gratitude fatigue, even if the process is helped by the fact that I simply adore my tools of the trade – a shiny new journal and a magnificent fountain pen gifted to me by my beloved.
And just to keep the motivation going, I might just post a few random daily gratitude extracts here in the coming weeks.
The coming weeks of THIS HERE NEW YEAR, that is…
Images: etsy.com, marieforleo.com, author’s own