Create your own gratitude practice

We’ve all been there. You’re feeling tired, you’ve just spilt coffee on your favourite top, you’re running late and to top it off, you’ve misplaced your house keys. When life gets busy, which it often does, we can forget to stop for a moment and think about what we’re grateful for.

Having a regular gratitude practice can be a beautiful addition to incorporate into your day. It can help to cultivate a positive mindset, to shift your thinking and in turn, may help to attract more positivity into your life. Here, we share some examples of how to start practicing gratitude.

Write it down

A quick, effective, and simple way of practicing gratitude is to start writing down things that you’re grateful for. You could do this practice at any time of the day, however, if you want to infuse your day with positivity from the get-go, you might prefer to begin in the morning by writing down five things that you’re grateful for. Start a journal which is dedicated to this practice and begin by adding five things every day. You’ll be surprised by how much you have to be thankful for- from having access to running water, achieving a good night’s sleep, or a particular person in your life. You don’t have to go into detail and say why you’re grateful, but if you feel like it on the day, it can be a nice way to delve a little deeper into the thought process.

Meditation and yoga

Meditation doesn’t always have to be sitting or lying down in a room, alone, with the sound of waterfalls streaming in through your headphones. Practicing yoga can be a fantastic way of getting in touch with your mind-body connection, by becoming more aware of not only your body, but your thoughts too. The great thing about yoga is that it’s accessible for everyone, as the poses can be adapted to suit all levels, from beginner to a more advanced practice. At Ragdale, we host a variety of yoga breaks for all levels, so stay tuned for the release of our 2021 fitness break schedule.

Use a gratitude rock

If journaling isn’t for you- that’s okay, you can set yourself ‘cue’s’ by having a gratitude rock or stone. This doesn’t need to be anything fancy- it could be a stone that you find when out walking, or a crystal you already own. Whenever you hold the rock, try to think of one thing that you’re grateful for, and really visualise it. Again, you can do this at any time of day, but sometimes it can be nice to do this before you go to sleep, by thinking of the best thing that happened to you during the day.

Spread the word

Your gratitude practice doesn’t always have to live on a page or in your mind: if you’re grateful for someone, or something- let them know! This can be a great way to spread positivity, and you never know, you might even make someone’s day.