The power of gratitude to change your thoughts and improve mental health

The power of gratitude is well known to improve our perceptions of life. when in a slump and experiencing many difficulties it can become quite easy to forget that our life isn’t just black and white but is many shades of colour in between. We have many good things that have happened to us. The unfortunate thing is the bad experiences, that may have been quite intense, tend to plague our minds. Through a simple strategy you can start to reverse your thinking from a low place to somewhere where you can start to realise that life does still have things to offer you no matter how bleak your situation.

Power of gratitude can change your world

Gratitude is a hugely powerful tool to help you change your thoughts from negativity to positivity. It may seem patronising to consider something so simple being able to change your life but this has proven to work. The founder of Seek A Therapy has tried this strategy and it did help challenge thoughts when depressed.

What gratitude does is make you aware of life’s little blessings. We sometimes forget, it focuses our attention on what we have rather than what we don’t. It turns a negative into a positive and it helps us appreciate the small things so that when any challenge comes our way, no matter how difficult, we can remember the things that we have to be grateful for.

Appreciate 10 things every day through the power of gratitude

Why ten things? Well, we have ten fingers so we can count on both hands things we have to be thankful for, and is a nice round number. At first when you do start to practice this technique you may find yourself struggling to come up with ideas.  Particularly when you are in a dark place. Although this may be the case, the more you practice this and start to notice more and more little things as well as the big things your mind will begin to change but…

it does take time and consistency.

Purchase a small notebook , the notebook of gratitude

Find yourself a stationery shop (or alternatively that big online store amazon) and look for a book you find attractive for whatever reason. This will be your book of gratitude. You already have one thing to be grateful by doing this and that is you are thankful for finding such a lovely looking notebook!

Next I want you to place this somewhere were you can see it everyday, on a bedside table is usually a good place. When you wake up in the morning, write the numbers 1 to 10 on the first page. Maybe date it at the top of the page too ( useful for when looking back ) and begin to attempt finding things to be grateful for when you wake up.

If you struggle to find things when you first wake up don’t pressure yourself, try again later on in the day and complete your 10 points to be grateful for and again, even if you can’t find 10 at a certain point in time it is no problem! In time you will begin to notice lots of things to happy about.

Some appreciation suggestions to get you started

Knowing where to start your own appreciation list can be tricky.  Here is 20 ideas to help you on your way. If you want to use some of these help yourself and also, you can be appreciative for the same thing each day, it just reenforces the power of that piece of gratitude.

I hope you find this strategy helpful please do give it a few weeks to notice an effect and if you have any thoughts or ideas I have missed or want to share please comment in the box below.

1. Waking up to a sunny day.
2. The smell of cut grass coming in through the window.
3. Having another day to experience.
4. Having a family/friend/pet that loves you unconditionally.
5. Being able to watch your favourite show/movie.
6. Having woke up in a comfortable bed.
7. Being able to achieve one of your health goals.
8. Being able to play a certain video game.
9. Appreciating that I am starting to learn about my mind more.
10. Having a job you love.
11. Learning a new skill.
12. Improving on your hobby.
13. Having good food.
14. Having flowers starting to bloom in your garden.
15. Listening to the sound of birds singing.
16. Enjoying a long walk.
17. Starting a new painting/drawing/singing/poetry.
18. Having an opportunity to continue to improve my situation.
19. Having the determination to push myself to change my habits.
20. Being able to use my past as a motivator to push me forward in a positive way.