Here’s How to Practice Being Thankful and Heighten Your Mood

Acknowledging the good in your life has a way of amplifying good emotions and improving your mood. By focusing more on the better things in life, whether it’s your family, friends, partner, job, pet, or even small personal accomplishments, it can allow you to fill your day with more gratitude and happiness. Here are some ways to practice being thankful to heighten your mood and appreciate more of what you do have.

Ask Yourself What You are Grateful for

Every night before bed, ask yourself what you’re grateful for in your work and in your personal life as well as who you’re thankful for. This will immediately invite more gratitude into your life every day and remind you of what you are truly thankful for.

Change Your Self Talk

When our minds start to drift off, there can be a lot of harmful self-talk that gets stirred up in those thoughts, often without us even noticing it. It’s important to pay attention to that self-talk and alter it each time you notice it. You can do this by just thinking of a few things that you’re grateful for, even if it’s your pet. This will help alter your mindset and start to re-train your brain to think how you’d like to.

Thank Yourself

Don’t forget to thank yourself. Make sure you give yourself a little pat on the back for the good things you do as well. Any healthy habits you’ve accomplished, goals you’ve conquered, or good deeds you’ve done should be celebrated, even in small, simple ways.

Keep a Journal

Every day, take a few minutes to jot down the things you are thankful for. This will help alter your mood immediately, and can also remind you of the lighter things when you are going through difficult times.

Savour it

It only takes a few minutes to be grateful for the good things in your life. But when you do, be sure to savour the moment. Take a few minutes and pay attention to how your body feels when you’re giving thanks. This will allow you to truly experience all the mood-heightening benefits that come with being grateful. The more you learn how to enjoy these feelings, the more often you’ll spend giving thanks in the future.

If you’ve been experiencing a rough patch or struggling to feel good about yourself and your life, come see us at Ottawa Counselling. We offer individual counselling, couples counselling, and family counselling. We can help you learn how to use gratitude more as a way to overcome difficult times and dark emotions. Contact us today to set up an appointment.