Today was a nice, slow thanksgiving with my family. My brain is fogged up on carbs, but I wanted to take some time to write about gratitude.
A daily gratitude practice is a pattern that emerges once you start studying the lives of the super successful. Oprah, Richard Branson, Daymond John, Tony Robbins, Tim Ferriss, etc all have a some form of gratitude practice.
Does gratitude create success and wealth? Possibly. At the very least it opens you up to an abundant mindset, where ideas and opportunities flow toward you. Gratitude focuses your attention on what you have instead of what you lack. It’s bending your mind toward the positive aspects of your life rather than the negative. The less weighed down you are by negativity, the more capable you are of reaching your goals.
The simplest way I’ve found to adding a gratitude practice to my day is the 5 minute Journal created by Alex Ikonn (which you could do without the book). Each morning you simply record three things you are grateful for. It can be big or small. (For example, I’m grateful for time with my family, I’m grateful for my new apartment, I’m grateful for the lovely weather today.) And in the evenings you write three amazing thing that happened today. (I had a day off from work, I spent time with friends and family all day, I worked on my podcasts)
You would think that small acts like these would add up to much in the grand scheme of things, but how we focus on the little things reflects how we handle the big things.
Action Questions:
How can I practice gratitude daily? How can I make it easy for myself to do so?
What icons do I follow who also talk about having a gratitude practice?
Keep Pursuing,
— Josh Waggoner
Related Wisdom:
“Take full account of the excellences which you possess, and in gratitude remember how you would hanker after them, if you had them not.” — Marcus Aurelius
“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.” — Zig Ziglar
“Learn to be thankful for what you already have, while you pursue all that you want.” — Jim Rohn
“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around .” — Willie Nelson
