Do you ever feel lost in the chaos of daily responsibilities? The longing for something, but you can’t picture a specific thing or situation that will make that feeling go away. Sometimes we just want more than we currently have offered and tend to focus on things we can’t necessarily change in an instance. This focus or longing causes imbalances, and living with those we tend to oversee the beauty we encounter each day.
I have experienced many of those moments myself, coming home exhausted from work, being tired after a sleepless night, or just having a stressful day. There were times when I just wished to escape this moment and go on vacation, or move to a new city, make new friends – I just wanted change. But the nature of the change that I wanted, in those moments, was external. Exactly this is the problem. You can’t fix your inner imbalances with external change. Eventually, you’ll get just as bored and unsatisfied with the new city, the new apartment, the new friends, as you are right now. To change something about feeling lost in the longing for something, whatever it might be, we have to start within. And that’s what I did. I started to actively practice gratitude. Was there a trigger? Hell yeah – I think everybody will agree with me, that 2020 was not exactly a walk in the park, and has left its scars all over the place.
When COVID 19 started to blow up in Germany, I was 6 months pregnant, and very worried, since we didn’t really know what we’re dealing with. Long before the lockdown, our family stopped living a ‘normal’ life and pretty much-avoided anything that could possibly be a danger. That was the moment when the small things I encountered every day received a boost of importance. Waking up next to my partner & daughter, feeling the little baby kicks throughout the day, or even simply having a sunny day were highlights. I started being so so grateful for the things that used to be just ‘normal’ to me, the things that were overlooked most of the time, and I have experienced a special form of happiness. The one that comes from within is stronger than any external change I could have ever experienced because it’s always available, we just have to learn how to use it. I started actively practicing gratitude and it has changed my life.
10 WAYS TO PRACTICE GRATITUDE ON A DAILY BASIS
#1 Keep a gratitude journal and add to it every day
Begin to keep track of things you are grateful for. I use my smartphone because I always have it on me and so I can easily take notes. I have even set a gratitude reminder because in our busy lives we sometimes forget. Studies have shown that writing down your thoughts has a much bigger impact than just thinking them. It’s worth a try.
#2 Notice the beauty in nature each day
I love …love …love being outside. I need my daily dose of fresh air. While being outside I made it a habit to really pay attention to the seasonal changes in nature. The smells, air quality, how some plants grow, the sky, etc. There are so many things you can focus on and it is an amazing and beautiful feeling to be allowed to experience that.
#3 Include an act of kindness in your life each day
It can be the smallest thing ever that can make someone else’s day brighter. A short phone call to check up on somebody, a hug, some reassuring words, or just listening to someone who needs to talk.
#4 Cook meals with love, think of the people you will feed
I have always loved cooking, but cooking something for someone you care for is very special. The amount of love and passion I put into my food creations is something that my family can taste, and seeing them happy makes me happy too. You should try this.
#5 Don’t gossip or speak badly about anyone
Having negativity in your life is bad – period. Every time people engage in negative talk it subconsciously affects their own life. I concentrate to see the good in different situations and also help others see the bright side of things, even if it’s not so easy at times.
#6 Spend quality time with your kids, (and) or your lover
Caught up in a fast-paced environment we tend to forget this. Some days we have so much on our plates that every activity just feels like a task that has to be completed. My dad just told me last week that it feels like yesterday when I and my sister were little girls, and he feels like back then he didn’t focus enough on enjoying those times. He said, every moment counts, even when your kids are annoying because they won’t listen, or you disagree with your partner. Those are precious little moments and we have to enjoy every bit of them because once they’re over, they’re over forever and never come back.
#7 When you think a negative thought, try to see the positive side of the situation
We all stumble over a negative thought here and there, some more, some less. Negative thoughts are not really productive when we’re trying to reach and maintain a state of freedom and happiness. Therefore I would always question the thought and its relevance. If it has relevance I would always try to see what I can change about a specific situation, and turn it into a positive thing.
#8 Live mindfully, not worrying about the past or future
It’s called living in the here and now. Every time we are spending time, thinking about an event that happened in the past or daydream about the future, we are missing out on what is happening right now, at this moment. This moment right now will never come back. It’s a moment in your life that you have simply missed. Whenever I catch myself zoning out and thinking about the past or future I’m trying to remind myself of the NOW because nothing else matters at that moment. We cannot change the past and we don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. NOW is all we have.
#9 Commit to one day a week when you won’t complain about anything
It’s a challenging task because complaining about things that don’t go our way is easy. I have experienced that when I’m really focused on not complaining, there’s nothing happening I need to complain about. It’s like I manage to get everything organized and planned out in a way that things just flow.
#10 See the growth opportunity in your mistakes
We all make mistakes and nobodies perfect. Yes, it’s a cliché thing to say but it is the truth. I probably make a little mistake every day and don’t even notice it, unless somebody else brings it up. Like everything in life, some mistakes are smaller and some are bigger, but they should all be viewed or valued as a lesson to do better and be better. I really take this seriously ever since I read the following sentence a while ago: “A mistake repeated more than once is a decision!”.