How to Maintain a Gratitude Practice When Things Are Hard
5 Ways You Can Train Yourself to Focus on What’s Positive No Matter What’s Happening
Your ability to maintain a gratitude practice will help you cope better when things are hard or not going the way you want them to.
When you have challenges and disappointments, unless you have trained yourself to focus on what’s going well, it’s easy to dwell on what’s not right.
1-Minute Summary Video
An addiction people have is to talk about their problems and focus on what’s negative. Even though focusing on what’s positive is challenging during hard times, having a gratitude practice will make it easier to see things from a different perspective.
Practicing gratitude is a mindset and way of being. It’s about focusing on the good things in life. When you have a gratitude practice, it can make the good days great, and help you get through the bad days or tough times.
Common Reasons Not to Practice Gratitude
While being grateful is beneficial, reasons to not practice it include:
- It is regarded as a chore or is time-consuming.
- People have not developed the habit of practicing it.
- It is not considered necessary.
- People take things for granted.
- People focus more on their problems and do not give attention to what’s positive.
What Does a Gratitude Practice Make Possible?
When you have a regular gratitude practice, things that become possible include:
- You will experience lower stress.
- Your health and wellness will improve.
- You will feel happier.
- Your sleep quality will improve.
- You will strengthen your relationships.
Knowing how to maintain a gratitude practice when things are hard will change how you deal with your problems, which means you can overcome them quicker.
5 Ways to Maintain a Gratitude Practice When Things Are Hard
Here are five ways to maintain a gratitude practice when things are hard, so you can train yourself to focus on what’s positive no matter what’s happening around you.
- Make a list of your most pleasant memories. This can include the successes you’ve had, experiences that brought you joy, and the events that have helped you get to where you are. This exercise will help train you to focus on the good things in your life.
- Do one thing productive that you enjoy. Overthinking can sometimes do more harm than good. When you’re in action, your focus will change. Doing something that gives you joy will improve your mood and your attitude.
- Remember the last time you went through a difficult time. You have gone through tough times before and survived. Recall the lessons you learned and how you can use it to overcome what you are going through.
- Make someone’s day better. No matter what you are going through, there are others dealing with bigger challenges. Showing a little kindness can go a long way. Giving a compliment, offering to help, or saying “Thank You” are ways to add joy to someone’s day.
- Visualize what you want to experience or achieve. Nothing lasts forever. This means what you are experiencing will end. You can speed that process by visualizing what you want or how you want to feel.
Final Thoughts
When things are hard, it’s important to acknowledge what you are feeling. That will make it easier to process your emotions and use your perspective to focus on what you want.
You don’t have to wait until things are bad to practice gratitude. You can start now and make it a daily habit.
Action Step: Give yourself at least five minutes daily to pause and remind yourself of the good things in your life. Write things you are grateful for in a journal, which is a simple way you can focus on what’s going well in your life.
Question: What are other things you can do to maintain a gratitude practice when things are hard?
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