Switching our focus is a powerful tool in building a happy life.
We often tell ourself the things that we should do to live a happier life. Yoga, diet, a gratitude journal? There are countless videos on YouTube and many articles written to inspire to live a self-helped life, but a gratitude journal seems kind of absurd. Or is it? The idea is that if you write down everyday what you are grateful for it will inspire you to be happier.
Let’s think about it for a moment. You wake up on Monday, you’re tired and you don’t want to go to work, or class, or whatever daunting thing you have required of you. You get out of bed and you stub your toe. “%^$#” you yell out loud. And like an electrical shock radiating from your throbbing toe to your brain you hear that inner voice say “today is going to be a bad day”. And then you get the snow ball effect. The toilet seat up. The last of the milk is gone. Someone took your charger. No clean socks.You can’t find your keys. Every light is red. There’s no parking. You miss your bus or train. You’re late. You spilled coffee on yourself. You forgot your lunch. So many different scenarios that could culminate in to a day that just keeps getting worse. And to think it all started in your stupid toe. How is that possible? Because in that moment you decided how you were going to perceive your day. You made an agreement with that voice in your head. The voice said “today is going be bad”, and you said “yup”.
We can all agree that stubbing your toe is a microcosm but we make it as macro as macro can get. It’s one tiny moment that sent the day into a downward spiral. So in that same way of thinking let’s apply it to gratitude. What is a moment of gratitude? It’s also just a tiny little thought or action right? If a tiny negative moment could send you spiraling down, then couldn’t a tiny positive moment spiral you up? Take sometime to sit down with your thoughts and think about what you have to be grateful for today. Did a coworker bring you a coffee? Did you realize that you didn’t forget your wallet on the cafe counter after all? Did your partner take out the trash AND do the dishes? Are your parents still alive? Did your dog finally starting using the back yard to do their business instead of the carpet? These moments of gratitude could be anything.
If you aren’t the type to journal in the traditional sense start making notes in your phone. Or what about creating voice memos in your phone. Maybe put up post-its in a designated wall in your home or office. When you are feeling down and everything is going wrong you could look at your wall, pick up that journal/phone and read your lists, or listen to all the things you have recorded that are amazing. It’s a two fold win. Not only are you taking the time to be present and appreciative of the positives things in life, you’re also documenting it and you can come back to it later to remind yourself that there is so much for each of us to be grateful for. We are all going have those mornings where we stub our toe and we are all fully capable of letting that set the tone for our day, but there is an alternative. Take a moment to redirect, regroup, and refocus. Changing our focus to what we have to be grateful for will surely help us to spiral up instead of down.