25 Things to be Grateful For

The Authentic Happiness website recommends that one of the most effective happiness tools is to keep a gratitude journal. Everyday you write down a few aspects of your life you are grateful for. It can be a very little event or a significant one. 

Another recommendation is to keep a daily 'that went well' journal. Here you write down three things that went well that day, but you also say why. I think this method is useful for natural pessimists like me, because it demonstrates how your own actions play a role in good fortune. 

Pessimists and optimists have an opposite thinking or explanatory style. I have to admit I was well schooled in the pessimistic view for most of my early childhood on. For example:

Something Bad Happens
Pessimistic Thinking                                                     Optimistic Thinking
Personal: It was all my fault                            Personal: It wasn't my fault
Permanent: It will last forever                        Temporary: It will pass
Pervasive: It affects my whole life                  Pervasiveness: It's a small part of my life

Luckily, you can train yourself to think differently, but it is hard. Marty Seligman's book "Learned Optimism" is a good start on the path of positive psychology. 

I try to write in my gratitude journal frequently, but it seems difficult to keep up at times. I started this gratitude journal in 2004, before I knew about much positive psychology. Here are 25 entries from 2012. 

• I'm grateful to have a job that's stable & uses my skills.
• I'm grateful for my Kindle.
• I'm grateful for my friends' support.
• I'm grateful I have E, my sister, & M. to talk to. 
• I'm grateful I got a week off & got to travel to L.A. & see J.
• I'm grateful that my house is clean. 
• I'm grateful that I went to Maine yesterday & spent time with N, G, & Z. 
• I'm grateful for S's art space. 
• I'm grateful for Kukala the dog. 
• I'm grateful to be meditating frequently.
• I'm grateful that I get to work again this summer at the Belmont Public Schools. 
• I'm grateful that it is the last day of school & I have the summer off. 
• I'm grateful for my flowers & plants. 
• I'm grateful for able bodied limbs. 
• I'm grateful that I got to go to Bermuda & swim in a pool with dolphins. 
• I'm grateful that my friends came to the Barn Bash with me.
• I'm grateful that I have an intern to help me at work.
• I'm grateful that I did some major cleaning & purging in August. 
• I'm grateful for J.B.'s friendship. 
• I'm grateful I feel confident at work.
• I'm grateful that the recent storm did not flood my building.
• I'm grateful for the sun today. 
• I'm grateful for a gathering of friends last night. 
• I'm grateful for future plans.
• I"m grateful for my blog! 

  

  Swam with dolphins! Check +