By Lana Shapiro

November is known to become the month when many people focus more on gratitude and all the areas in their lives where they feel thankful.  Focusing on gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.

As the cold weather sets in, sunlight decreases and one can experience an increase in seasonal depression; focusing on gratitude and thankfulness can help to distract from a negative mindset. One of the best ways to ensure consistency with feeling gratitude is by developing a daily practice.

Here are some examples of a practice, you can develop and adapt to your personal needs:

1. Morning Gratitude Journaling: 

Take 5-10 minutes every morning when you first wake up and before you start any other habitual activities, such as scrolling through your phone, to write down 3-5 things you are grateful for from the day before. Try to think of different things to write every day, this practice will ensure that you are focusing on the little things and it will also help you stop and notice them more throughout your days.

2. Evening Gratitude Journaling:

Similar to the morning practice, this simply takes place in the evening as you are settled into bed and before you go to sleep. This practice will help you reflect on your day and ensure that you go to sleep with a grateful heart.

3. Evening Intention Setting: 

Before you go to sleep, set an intention for how you want to feel when you wake up in the morning. We often tend to focus on all the things we need to get done and our never-ending to-do list, which can add stress and overwhelm, resulting in trouble sleeping and inability to wake up feeling restful. Remember that your subconscious mind does not go to sleep, it is always active, so if the last thoughts you have before going to sleep are stress-focused, that is the energy you will carry throughout the night and wake up with in the morning.

4. Focus on Positive Thoughts

When You Awake: 

As soon as you wake up in the morning, consciously tell yourself “Today is going to be a great day”. You can say this statement in your head or out loud. Say it even if you don’t fully believe it yet. It is even more powerful if you repeat it three times.

5. Say Thank You: 

Every time something good or positive happens to you or around you throughout your day, stop and say “Thank you”. This is a powerful practice that will help you be more mindful throughout your day to notice all the goodness around you.

There are many ways we can turn our mood around and focusing on gratitude is one of the best ways to do that. Our brains go through a literal re-wiring process when we keep a consistent focus on heartfelt gratitude. My challenge to you is to start this now and keep it going, don’t stop when November ends, allow this to become a part of your daily practice and before you know it, this will change your mindset and your life for the better.