All the good people you do have in your corner. Because two people could have the same situation (under performing parents, awesome grandparents, good grades at a community college, a minimum wage job) and have completely different realities.

The person who isn’t enjoying their life could say: I have terrible parents, no one even cares about me, the school I am going to sucks and I wish I was going to a private university, I make no money, can’t afford anything, I’m not enjoying this life.

The person in the same situation, but who practices gratitude could say: I’ve got the best grandparents, and I am so grateful for the positive influence they have had on my life. I’m not sure where I would be without them, but I am so glad they have been such an important part of me becoming who I am. I’m also super grateful for school coming relatively easy for me and being able to work hard and get good grades. Being at a community college means I get to save some money and be closer to the people I care about. The job I work allows me to do the things I like doing and pay for school, so I am grateful for that.

Same life. Different realities.

All because of gratitude.

You see, when you spend just five or ten minutes a day writing down even just five things you’re grateful for, you’re training your mind to look for these things on a daily basis. You’re going to start getting the best parking spot at grocery stores and be so grateful for it. You’re going to get more excited when someone does even a small random act of kindness for you. Because you are training your brain to search for these things, they seem to happen more regularly.

The same way the person who just went and bought a white jeep now sees it seems everyone has a white jeep. Did everyone just go out and buy one because she did? No. But because she opened her awareness up to white jeeps, she was now seeing them, even though they were always there before and she just didn’t notice. Same thing goes with gratitude, once you start practicing it, you’ll notice more and more things happening to you that you have to be grateful for.

So for me, I spend about five minutes every morning writing out gratitude (things I have over my whole life that I have to be grateful for, more general things or specific experiences that happened in the past), and then I spend about five minutes at night writing out things I am grateful happened that day. Can be small things like getting the last pint of my favorite ice cream at the store (not really a small thing honestly) or bigger things like welcoming a client into my program or something along those lines.

Starting and ending my day this way has been one of the best ways I am found to stay on track and stay positive. It’s really hard to have a string of bad days if I am each day able to find SOMETHING to celebrate.

I encourage you to take it a step further than just thinking of what you’re grateful for on Thanksgiving. Although, I love that so many people are thinking of their gratitude lists today. Try practicing gratitude daily, and see what it does for you, I would love to hear about it.

I want to take a moment to celebrate all those amazing women who joined Flirting Forward, my group coaching program- congratulations and I am so excited to work with you! This is going to be the ride of your life, and I can’t wait for you to experience all that is ahead! 

If you are wanting to apply, go ahead and check out the link for that below, and make sure you apply by Sunday the 30th when applications close!