The power of gratitude
One year is drawing to a close, another is about to begin. As the old year gives way to the new, we take stock and commune with ourselves. Yet our preparations for the new year, with lists full of resolutions and goals we wish to achieve, inevitably also make us look back.
What do you usually see when you look back?
When you revisit yesterday, last month or even the entire year, do you focus on the things that you didn’t do or instead concentrate on what you achieved? Do you think about what went wrong or all the things that went right?
Are you able to look back with gratitude?
The ability to be grateful is a valuable skill. It helps us to develop a positive attitude that allows us to appreciate all the things we have. Even in times of trouble. Above all, such an attitude helps us to recall how precious life is.
Gratitude helps us to never give up, to encounter all obstacles with courage and overcome these faster. Gratitude is a huge gift that we should present to ourselves first and foremost, but which is also “infectious” to our fellow humans – an attitude of love, love for our life and our actions, which allows us to recognise even the small and sometimes-hidden gifts that daily life has in store for us.
We want to introduce you to a new attitude: that of gratitude. Each day, let us try and practise being a little more grateful, whether that’s early in the morning, before going to bed or during our lunch break. How? By thinking of the nice things in life, no matter how small. All the things that put a smile on our face and make us feel lighter in our heart. It’s very helpful to write down these things, so that we have them set down in black and white and easily to hand in difficult moments, i.e. at exactly those times when everything seems to be going wrong and we can only see the negative.
If you don’t yet have a “gratitude journal”, then you can download and print out our gratitude templates!
With the help of our template, you can record each day the things that you are grateful for, colour in our mandala and note down a sentence or thought that has inspired you. And maybe you might like to stick in your favourite tea tags?!
When we practise gratitude, we learn to not always judge ourselves negatively and to get in the habit of appreciating not just ourselves but also the decisions we have made and the courage we have shown (something which is demonstrated by our small decisions in particular!). Gratitude helps us to be proud of the journey we have taken and to appreciate the small pleasures in life.
Here’s to a new, positive year, which we want to look forward to with great curiosity, hope and gratitude in our heart!
