The other day I was walking around my kitchen, fixing breakfast and took a quick break to write in my Gratitude book. My husband gave me a curious look and asked “uh, is that your journal?” and I realized that I had never shared anything about my weekly gratitude lists with him. So, I explained the importance of that little notebook to him and afterward thought I should share it with everyone:

Each week I write a gratitude list; at the top of the page I jot down the date and below I write out all of the things that I am grateful for that week. It includes a variety of events and circumstance from the tiniest thing made me smile, like my cat cuddling with me on the couch, to big things, like my dad’s cancer staying in remission. It’s a collection of details in my life, each of which I appreciate and want to acknowledge.

By doing this I am choosing to bring the positive aspects of my life to my consciousness. Every week there are many positive events and several negative ones as well. But I want to focus on the positive, keeping my energy and outlook as optimistic as possible.

I recommend this exercise to everyone, you will be amazed at how easily the bad stuff seems to fade away we you intentionally pay attention to good things in you life.