We have reached the end of our mini-challenge, and we have dealt with quite a lot of information. You have learned why acknowledging, embracing, and expressing gratitude are so important. You have also learned some concrete ways to begin a practice of gratitude in your own life. I would like to go into this in more detail when we finish our challenge to give you a more detailed list of helpful tips on how to use the power of gratitude. You can take advantage of these ideas as you progress in creating your own routine.
Take a walk of gratitude
A walk is a good way to relieve stress and gain perspective. It offers a number of advantages. You leave your familiar surroundings, go out into the fresh air, and get away from distractions. It is a form of physical activity that is associated with all sorts of health benefits. Walking can even be considered a form of meditation. It is a fabulous way to focus on gratitude. During this special walk, pay special attention to the things you encounter along the way. You will probably discover a lot on your walk for which you can be thankful.
Create a gratitude collage
A fun way to visually acknowledge your gratitude is to create a gratitude collage. This process works similar to a vision board. You can cut out pictures from a magazine or add personal photos. You can easily put your collage on a board or make it more creative and decorative. You can even save your board electronically to Pinterest or another application. It’s all about collecting images that make you think about your happiness. It’s a good idea to put your board in a place where you can see it or access it daily. You might even want to add to it to keep it dynamic.
Hold a friendship party
Friendsgiving is like Thanksgiving, only with friends and your chosen family instead of your biological family. This special occasion is often celebrated instead of the traditional Thanksgiving for those who don’t have a family close by or who are emotionally not close to their relatives. Sometimes it takes place near the actual holiday. However, you can also be creative and hold your own special gathering whenever you want, tailored to your needs. A thankfulness celebration or meeting can remind you of the people who are most important in your life and strengthen existing bonds.
Seek gratitude in challenges
Let’s turn things around a bit. You probably know how easy it is to focus on the bad things. Sometimes we get stuck in the negative and let it push us down. This is natural, but you can break this cycle by consciously working to find gratitude in life’s challenges. Look for the lessons or the silver lining. Be sure to write them down in your gratitude diary or write them down in a formalized form so that you can look back and remember the good that came out of adversity.
Helping Others
One of the most effective ways to gain a perspective and be grateful for what you have is to help others in need. This can be done through a formal volunteer stint with a philanthropic organization, or it can simply be something like helping a neighbor you see who could use a hand to help with his lawn. No matter how big the effort, you will reap the rewards of helping others. If you try to help someone else at least once a week, you will surely experience a surge of gratitude.
Try out these ideas. Research some additional ideas yourself or brainstorm. Just start so you can see the difference an attitude of gratitude can make to your whole life.
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