This post inspired by something M shared from his subscriptions: practice your gratitude. The idea is to spend two minutes or so every week, jotting down five things you are grateful for.
I love how the post also talks about evidence that this works: one study found that “Participants took the time to write down 5 things they were grateful for each week, for 10 weeks. At the end of the study this group were 25% happier than a comparison group who simply listed five events from the week.” Another “compared practising gratitude three times a week with once a week. They found that only those who carried out the exercise once a week were happier. This suggests overdoing the gratitude is not beneficial – perhaps because of habituation.” Given this evidence, I will try and do this once a week, for the next ten weeks or so.
My list for this week:
- Hot cups of tea
- M, my loving husband
- Paco and Peppi, who remind me that happiness is in the simplest things
- Broadband access (one of my team members told me she only has dial up at home)
- Holidays! (I am feeling super worn out at the moment, are we there yet?)
3 Comments
ooh I love this *stealing idea*
My 5 things this week:
1/ my kids and husband
2/ my health (well shear stamina at this time of year)!
3/ having a roof over my head
4/ fresh fruit – peaches, cherries
5/ people who look out for me
K
Great practice, innit! I could extend it to thinking about all the people I know who are sick at the moment:
Close family friend
Relative
Workmate’s partner who has a badly broken leg
Workmate’s husband who has injured his hand at work
…
If I was the praying kind I would be praying for them!
Thanks for sharing this idea. I think I will give it a go as well.
Week 1
1. My loving partner who does more than his fair share of housework.
2. Working in a library that has a compulsory shutdown between christmas and new year.
3. 3 month uni holidays.
4. The money to add teddy bears to my collection whenever I want to without feeling guilty.
5. Chocolate.