March 4, 2023
By Kayla Oglivie
Staff Writer
When 2023 started, I committed myself to practice gratitude daily. I realized I needed to do this because I was often in a terrible mood and feeling lazy. I no longer wanted people to view me as angry, so I vowed to become more grateful, which has led to a significant positive change in my demeanor.
Practicing gratitude requires sustained effort, but it is worthwhile because it helps build strong relationships, deal with adversity, have positive emotions, improve health and relish good experiences.
While gratitude may seem tough to achieve, it can be attained through a series of actions and activities:
1. Strengthening communication. When I catch myself shutting out the ones around me and consuming social media, I take a step back. I put down my phone, leave my room and start a conversation with my parents.
2. Exercise. I have begun exercising two times a week. This has made me more energetic and motivated, which means I can embrace and spread positivity.
3. Education. During my transformation, I have relied heavily on the book “How to Be Mindful.” In this book, author Anna Barnes writes about how to make peace with yourself and suggests a variety of activities to improve mindfulness.
4. Meditation. I reduce my stress by meditating every Friday for 15 minutes. This calms me down and boosts my mood.
5. Journaling. When I have free time, I pick up a pen and write about what I am grateful for. This helps me become more appreciative.
6. Expressing empathy. This can be done in various ways such as being kind and helpful to your family, friends and teachers. Being polite improves my interpersonal communication, and that makes me feel more grateful.
7. Painting. One of my favorite things to do in my free time is paint on a canvas. I love the style of artist Takashi Murakami’s flowers because they are colorful and fun, so I try to mimic that style in my own artwork.
8. Watch self-care videos. I like to watch videos on the Sadhguru channel because they lighten my mood and provide me with tips to live a more fulfilling life.
9. Use motivational apps. The Motivation and Daily apps give me daily notifications with quotes and positive affirmations. These lift my spirits and give me a positive reason to check my phone.
10. Keep a gratitude jar. I like to put slips of white-lined paper in a mason jar, which I refer to as my gratitude jar. On the slips, I write about something good that happened to me that day. This keeps me feeling appreciative even if I had a rough day.
It is easy to practice gratitude when you break it down into small steps like the ones above. So don’t wait any longer, start boosting your gratitude today, and see how it will change your life, as it has changed mine.
