Four Ways to Practice Gratitude on Your Worst Day
Some days can feel so emotionally painful that you may have difficulty thinking about what you’re grateful for. You may even be thinking it’s a terrible time to be thinking about what you’re grateful for.
I invite you to think about it in a different way.
Gratitude is most powerful on your worst days.
I discovered the power of gratitude during the most painful time of my life.
I found it in a simple cup of hazelnut coffee. My fiancé was battling cancer. The doctors said that there was nothing left that they could do for him, and that he was going to die.
During those hospital days that were filled with so much unpredictability and anxiety, I was able to find comfort in something that was simple and seemingly insignificant, but predictable. I needed predictable, and I found it in a cup of hazelnut coffee.
I was so grateful for that simple cup that brought me so much comfort. I did not understand at the time why that cup of coffee was so comforting. Only in hindsight did I come to understand that what I was doing was practicing gratitude.
This is how I know in my heart that gratitude is most powerful on our worst days.
This is how I know that gratitude for the simplest thing will make you feel better.
It doesn’t make your problems go away, but you will feel better.
A daily gratitude practice changes the way you see your life and the world.
Here are some simple ways to practice gratitude on a difficult day.
1. Use your uncomfortable or painful emotion as a trigger to practice gratitude. What lesson can you find? Is there a silver lining? How can you grow? Growth often happens in the most painful parts of living. What is the positive value? (The positive value may be difficult to uncover, but it’s always there. You wouldn’t have the emotional pain without the positive value being “violated” in some way).
2. Think about what you have overcome in your past, and what characteristics about you got you through. You still are that person. Appreciate and celebrate those qualities within you.
3. Express gratitude toward another person. Who is helping you? Who do you love? Who can you help? Human connection helps to heal our hearts.
4. Think about one simple thing that you can be grateful for. Keep it simple. Did you enjoy a favorite beverage? Did you have a bed to sleep on? Did someone smile at you, give a hug, or share kind words? When we intentionally keep it simple, we train our brains to notice, highlight, and celebrate the simple, wonderful things that are present in our lives every day.
Try one idea today, or try all four!
Which is your favorite? What works for you?
In Gratitude,
Peggy
If you’d like to learn more about my story and how I discovered the power of gratitude during the most painful time of my life, you may be interested in my memoir, an Amazon bestseller in the category of Miracles and Spirituality – I Can See Clearly Now: A Memoir about Love, Grief, and Gratitude
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