Daily Practice: FEELING Gratitude

If you've been feeling down lately about your situation, something that may help with this is the act of giving thanks. If you take time out of your day, everyday, to intentionally FEEL Gratitude, you can really improve your mood, and therefore your circumstances. I've started making this a daily practice, and have truly been feeling better about myself and my circumstances. This practice has also had an effect on my relationships. I thank God (or whom/whatever you want to thank) everyday for the things I feel most strongly about on that day and the things I intentionally want to have a better attitude about.

How to have a daily practice of Feeling Gratitude:

Carve out a time everyday for your practice.

Start a journal. Everyday write the things you are grateful for. Include the first things that come to mind (ex. I am grateful for being able to read and write) as well as things you intentionally want to feel grateful for (ex. I want to have a better relationship with my partner, and one of the things that will help with this is me having a better attitude about the relationship, therefore I write: I am thankful for my loving and supportive partner, _____ )

Speak your gratitude. Read what you've written in your journal aloud.

Visualize. Feel gratitude. It isn't enough to just say your grateful, you must actually feel the feelings of gratitude. (Example: Think about all the opportunities you have because you can read and write. FEEL how happy you are that you have these opportunities. Focus on the loving and supportive things your partner does for you. FEEL how happy you are to have a partner with these traits, and FEEL the love you have for him/her.) Be sure to do this for each thing you've written on your list for the day.

One habit at a time.

Today while looking through the Institute of Intergrative Nutrition's Facebook page I saw they had posted the question "What was the best piece of health advice you've ever given or received?" I thought this post would certainly have some really great nuggets of healthful information, so I started reading the replies. I came to one that resonated with me so much that I had to stop reading. It said:

One habit at a time. 

This small sentence, or rather sentence fragment, made me feel like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. 

One habit at a time. 

It's such a simple and obvious concept, but sometimes it can be ignored or hard to accept. On this journey to health that I have begun, I sometimes feel overwhelmed at the amount of change I need to make to be the physically, mentally and spiritually healthy person I want to be. There is so much wrong with our society's ways of producing food, eating, healing, working and views of health in general that it truly astounds me. when I think about how I want to start eating only pastured meat and eggs, eating only organically produced foods, subscribing to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), taking herbs daily, getting massage at least twice a month, doing Yoga everyday, meditating everyday and eating raw cultured veggies, among other things. I feel SWAMPED when I think about this list! And everyday I learn a new piece of information that I place on top of my pile of things I want to incorporate into my healthy living practices. But now I can remember: 

One habit at a time. 

This piece of advice can help me take a deep breath and FOCUS on the habit at hand. They say it takes 3 weeks to make or break a habit. I'm going to start working on one or two habits for 3-4 weeks. I'm hoping this new approach will help me to feel unintimidated and in control and will  help me make lasting lifestyle changes.

New Mantra: One habit at a time.