Count Your Blessings

“Be grateful for what you have!” I think we have all heard this sentence before. But did you know that actively thinking and talking or writing about the things you are grateful for on regular basis can actually increase your over-all well-being? Scientific research has shown that people who did the ‘Three Good Things’ exercise daily for 21 days had more positive emotions through-out the experiment. You can try it too! The exercise is very simple. At the end of every day, write down three things you are grateful for. It can be something that happened that day, like “I am grateful that today I had the time to go to the park and enjoy the nice weather.” or it can be something general about your life, like “I am grateful that I have warm bed to sleep in.” It can be anything, just make sure you are authentically grateful for it. Now, this does not mean that if you have a lot to be grateful for, that you don’t have the right to feel bad. Everybody has to deal with difficult things in life, no matter our circumstances. Doing this exercise serves to merely balance the scales a bit. Often, we concentrate a lot on the things that are not going well in life and as a result we don’t feel good. By doing this exercise every day, you can simply remind yourself that despite your troubles, there are good things in your life that you are grateful for.

Reference
Lai, S. T., & O’Carroll, R. E. (2017). ‘The Three Good Things’-the effects of gratitude practice on wellbeing: a randomised controlled trial. Health Psychology Update, 26(1), 11.