Developing Gratitude
By Rene Bastarache, CI
Gratitude is one of the best things to develop in your life if you want to be happier. Thinking about what you’re grateful for can immediately bring a smile to your face, turn around a negative mindset and eliminate stress on the spot.
This session will help you to develop a grateful list so you can have it with you wherever you go. It will give you more to be happy about and help you to appreciate the life you have.
The Script
Think of something you’re grateful for… just one thing… It can be anything you like… Something you have a home… At your office… Maybe a family member or friend… It can be a job… Your home… Your car… Or even your health… Think about something that makes you grateful…
Once you’ve decided what it is that makes you grateful… Take a moment to focus on it… What makes you grateful about this thing or person… What makes you happy or smile about it…
Use your imagination and imagine that the thing or person that you are grateful for is right in front of you… Get the picture as clearly as you can and even describe it to yourself quietly… How does it make you feel…? Why is it special or mean something to you…?
Now I’d like you to take a moment and think of a second thing or person that you are grateful for… Once again imagine this thing or person right in front of you… Why are you grateful for this thing or person… Just take a moment to let your mind focus on what’s in front of you… Get the picture very clearly… and think about how this person or thing makes you feel… and why it is special to you…
One more time I’d like you to use your imagination and choose the third thing or person that you’re grateful for in your life… Get the picture as clearly as you can and even describe it to yourself quietly… How does it make you feel…? Why is it special or mean something to you…?
When you open your eyes you’ll write these three things down on a paper or in a small notebook… Something that you can keep handy or possibly even with you…
When you get down, frustrated, negative minded or stressed simply think of the things on your list and imagine them one by one as you just did here until your feelings change to gratefulness…
Continue to do this exercise on your own in the future… Whenever you have a few minutes of quiet time… You can simply close your eyes and imagine the things on your grateful list… Each time you do it… Add three new things to your list… This way you list will begin to grow… And you’ll realize how much more you have to be grateful for in your life…
Congratulations… you are now able to change your own attitude at will using gratitude.