The Gratitude Experiment
When you take time off from anything, make sure you are using that time to dig deep in your soul about things you might have been putting off. One of my focuses on my time off was my mindset. This year I have been trying to understand mindset because there have been so many mentally taxing this year. In fact, most of the people I have been talking to have said this year has been mentally crazy and exhausting. I guess it could be said about every year, but it is not valid.
So, I finally broke down and read the Power of Positive Thinking and watched many YouTube videos about positive thoughts, gratitude, and inspiration. I fed my mind with these positive things because, in my struggle, I am running out of the alternatives.
You know when you are so sick you decide to try something because you are like what could it hurt? It is where I was within reason, of course, and sat there thinking over a week what could it hurt to try positive thinking and gratitude?
Now I am a skeptic and very analytical when it comes to adding new things in my life. While researching positive thinking, there were a lot of ways people had mentioned to go about becoming more positive. Some of the suggestions were getting rid of toxic people, getting rid of clutter, and spending more time on self-care. When I looked at these particular items, I thought positive thinking wasn’t going to work. How could I avoid toxic people they are everywhere? I’ve been unpacking my life box by box for years now after a move I have clutter all over until I can sort through things. I love the idea of self-care, and of course, I would love to spend more time on it, but I am a single parent, so I only get so many minutes in that department. Was I making excuses, of course, I was because I wanted it to be comfortable and not make my life harder. I am a baby steps kind of person.
Upon further research into the positive thinking world, I found people using affirmations, vision boards, and gratitude lists. These were things I felt like I could make time for and experiment with. I needed to make this accessible anywhere because there were many times when I wasn’t home and need a way to pick myself up. I decided to go with the Trello app. I have used the free version of Trello to track my writing, so using it for something else essential to be well being seemed to fit. Trello could be accessed from any device or through the website.
The Experiment.
1. Find some affirmations that would apply.
It was easy to find some affirmations online; there are lists of them everywhere. I found a couple pictures that had lists of affirmations I knew applied to things I needed to change my mind about. I copied these pictures and added them to a happy board I created. Writing has been important to me for many years, so I also found just two of my favorite writing quotes and one inspirational quote to keep me motivated.
2. Gratitude list
I created a board in Trello to list three things I was grateful for in the morning, which was a great way to keep myself off social media in the early morning hours. These could be simple things or complex ideas. Some days I was thankful for AC, and other days I was grateful for the galaxy.
3. Victories List
I decided to create a list for victories of the day that I have seen used in particular planners. I had been struggling with feeling like I have been making progress in my goals, so at night, I would list three things as my victories. This was anything from I had a customer thank me for my dedication, I got to go to bed early, or I had a good talk with my kiddo about school.
4. Vision Board
My vision board was just a few pictures of how I would like to see my life in the next few years. Images were representing relationships, my living situation, joy, and a variety of other ideas.
I did all of these things for a solid month, and my positivity was through the roof. I had the energy to lift others up who were having a bad day. I was not nearly upset with the circumstances of my life. It was unusual how much changed and how my point of view really shifted.
I stopped to see if it would make a difference, and let me tell you it did. Within a couple weeks of stopping, I wasn’t right back where I started, but I could feel the pressure and anxiety begin to build again. So if you are having a hard time writing like I was or just dealing with the personal things going on in your life, give gratitude a chance and see what it can do for you.
*This is not meant to take the place of medical advice. If you are having mental health problems, please seek help. If you are having suicidal thoughts, please contact the suicide hotline at call 1-800-273-8255.