In the Spring of 2016, I hit a pretty hard rock bottom. I let depression, anxiety, and a negative mindset guide my every thought. Life always felt like an uphill battle for me. I always thought, “there must be a better way to do this, there must be a better way to live.”
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I desperately wanted to be happier, but I was looking for happiness in all the wrong places.
I began to realize that happiness is an inside job, and I knew I had to change myself in order to be happy…but where to begin?
One day, I came across a motivational photo on Instagram that said you can rewire your brain in 21 days. I looked into this “21-day” concept, and I found that research has shown that it takes 21 days for a habit to form. Years of scanning through bookshelves worth of self-help books taught me that one of the easiest ways to bring more happiness and abundance into your life is to be grateful for what you already have.
With all that being said, I combined these “gratitude” and “21-day” concepts and took it upon myself to do a little experiment. Every day for 21 days, I was going to write down three things that I was thankful for, and that’s exactly what I did.
Here are 12 key takeaways from my experience:
- Even when you feel like your life is in shambles, there is always something to be grateful for.
- What you are ungrateful for, someone else might be praying for.
- Life itself is a beautiful gift, and waking up every morning is something we take for granted.
- The more grateful I became, the more humble I became.
- Having a gratitude journal helped me to realize who and what is truly important to me.
- I became more aware of the details of my day, such as the stranger that smiled at me on the street.
- Things began to simply work out for me with ease (i.e. catching the subway just as I entered the station).
- I noticed myself saying “thank you” multiple times to myself under my breath.
- I wrote down many feelings such as being “happy” or “at ease.”
- Writing down what I was grateful for generated more and more positivity in my life each and every time.
- I began to be thankful for the bad because I saw bad or unwanted experiences as challenges and opportunities to grow.
- My mindset changed from thinking about “what I need” to “what I already have.”
My list started out as basic as this, I am grateful for “1. Mom 2. Food 3. A home to live in,” but gradually developed into so much more. I remember reaching the 21-day mark and thinking “wow, this really does work.” Now, I can’t go a morning without saying/thinking “thank you” upon waking up.
Writing in my journal and looking back at it helps me feel happy, calm and at ease. My life has become much more positive and peaceful. Gratitude will shift you to a higher frequency, allowing you to attract better things into your life. I truly believe a grateful heart is a magnet for miracles.
I still write in my gratitude journal every day. Some days I list five things I’m thankful for, some days I write down twelve. No matter what, I always write down at least three. If I miss a day, I make up for it by listing more the next day. Some things I list are still very basic such as the people in my life or getting to work on time, but most times they are quite detailed.
Even if you feel like your life is in shambles, there is always something to be grateful for. If you seriously can’t think of anything, be thankful for waking up each day because life is a beautiful gift that shouldn’t ever be taken for granted.
Related: How to Calm Down in the Moment, 2 Minutes or Less
