20-Dec-2009

The Best Present

Make a Gratitude List

So many problems, worries, and challenges, it piles up fast! That overwhelmed feeling is a signal from your brain and nervous system, telling you to take a break. If ignored, it all starts to color your perception and take over your life. Without finding some way to slow down this onslaught, it can result in serious anxiety, fear and even depression.

Here is a simple tool to use every day. Sit down with a paper and pen. Take a couple of deep, slow breaths and think of the things you are grateful for in your life. Start simple: like being grateful for your eyes and the beauty they can see, your ability to taste, smell, breathe. Write everything down. If you come to a writer’s block, stop, take a breath and be silent and more will come to you. This simple practice will clean your lens to the world and train your mind to recognize the blessings in any situation.

Recommended: Gratitude: A Journal and Gratitude: A Way of Life