Gratitude.

Gratitude has helped me in so many ways.

As I've mentioned before, practicing gratitude and positivity is never an excuse for ignoring your feelings until they fester; it is a way of pulling yourself up and finding some light when you feel like you are falling into the darkness. It is a tool that you can equip yourself with when you’re feeling stressed or anxious or overwhelmed.

Gratitude is about being present in the moment as much as you possibly can. It is about seeing, and I mean really seeing, all of the wonderful things around you right now. Gratitude can absolutely change your life if you give it a chance.

I promise you that.

Gratitude makes you happier and reduces your stress, therefore improving your overall health; because when you’re happier and less stressed you’re healthier, right?

It also enhances our positive emotions, builds our resilience and enables us to be more optimistic in general; because the more we practice gratitude, the more it simply becomes our way of being. We can lean on it by default rather than crumbling every time we are faced with adversity, instead, we can truly appreciate what we have and know that we are blessed, rather than feeling like we don’t have enough because in actual fact, most of us have more than enough.

To practice gratitude, I love to first take a few deep breaths and centre myself, I then write down a few things that I am truly grateful for and why, no matter how big or small. You can do it in your mind, (when driving or when you’re in bed), but personally I find it much more powerful when written down.

Try to really feel the feelings of this gratitude, and really get down to the why... Why are you grateful? Let the warmth wash over you and fill every crevice of your heart, and come back to this feeling throughout the day when you feel like you need a little boost.