What you appreciate grows

As a marketing habits coach, people ask me what habit should come first. The answer is always the same… “Spend 5 minutes a day writing down 3 things you are grateful for…” If you can do this – you can change your life.

You don’t need to buy a special journal to do this. You can simple send yourself a text or an email. It helps if you have a way of going back to past entries and of tracking how many days in row you are posting. The things you are grateful for can be small things – like a blue sky during your lunch time walk, or the smell of fresh baked cookies.

There are SO many benefits to writing down your daily gratitude:

• You’ll Feel Happier – The saying about what you focus on grows is very true, especially when your focus is on something positive about your life. When you can see the good in your life as it’s happening, you’ll be much more likely to be able to do it again. 

• You’ll Be More Satisfied with Your Life – It’s so easy to focus on things when they go wrong. You missed your alarm clock, you got caught in the rain, you spilled food on your new shirt – all seem like bad things until you realize oversleeping enabled you to cuddle with your spouse longer, the rain cooled you down after lunch, and you only spilled the food because you were laughing with your best friend. 

• You’ll Become Less Focused on Keeping Up with the Jones’ – When you focus on the positive, it becomes clear that it’s not things that make you happy or successful – it’s experiences. As you realize that your life becomes so much richer and then, of course, you feel more comfortable and experience your life as successful. 

• You Won’t Burn Out As Easily – If you’re aware of yourself and stay mindful, you can avoid experiencing burnout in the first place. Taking the time to record your gratitude lets you concentrate on the good parts, which can calm you down and let you place your focus where it belongs. 

• You’ll Take Better Care of Yourself– People who can turn their focus to what’s good in their life are more likely to exercise, eat right, and stay mindful about their health.  

• You’ll Sleep Better Every Night – Getting everything out on paper before bed is a great time to focus on gratitude. You’ll fall asleep faster as your good mood will result in reduced anxiety. 

• You’ll Be Less Tired– When you sleep better at night due to less anxiety, you’re naturally going to feel more well-rested and sharp during the day. 

• You’ll Be Able to Bounce Back – Not having your mind clouded with all the negativity of the day is going to help you bounce back when things do go wrong. When you can turn your brain toward what’s good about something, you can usually get back on the path faster. 

• You’ll Be More Patient – Not being on edge due to anxiety and bad thoughts will also increase your patients with others and yourself too. After all, there is often something good you can take from almost everything, eventually. 

• You’ll Have More Friends– People like being around those who are more positive than they do people who are always on edge and anxious. If you really want to build strong relationships, focus on the positive more. 

Wow…. that’s a lot of benefit for 5 minutes a day of effort. Talk about positive ROI! Quick, grab a notebook or just post in the comments – what are you grateful for today?