Evening Gratitude

One of my biggest beliefs that I have been acting more so (finally) recently is expressing gratitude. I had read a bunch and heard people preaching about its immense benefits in the last couple years and have begun to reapply the philosophy. I have discovered personally in my life that expressing gratitude has a profound effect for how my days go. It prevents me from continuing in the grind of daily life. As a college student (and anyone for that matter), it is quite easy to get 'caught up' in the daily motion of life. Studying for classes, hanging out with friends, working out, taking care of kids (for parents), balancing work, and more can weigh a ton on anyone.

In his book, "Eat That Frog," Brian Tracy directly states bluntly in the third paragraph of the introduction: "The fact is that you are never going to get caught up. You will never get on top of your tasks. You will never get far enough ahead to be able to get to all those books, magazines, and leisure time activities that you dream of." Waiting until the fabled tomorrow is too often the only alternative. Before I simply waited for "free time" to express gratitude, to feel happy, and to relax. Quite frankly, I've realized that time will never come and the only solution is to somehow function with everything seemingly falling apart around you. The only way to sustain that without letting it effect you is recognizing everything that you are truly grateful for.

So this is what I've been doing recently. I have a small Gratitude Journal that I write in at the end of each day. It isn't much, just 1/2-1 page taking 5-10mins to write. I write what I am grateful for that happened in the day that passed. Additionally, I thank God for all the blessings He has given to me. I sometimes go so far to say that I TRULY appreciate him giving me the gift of this immense curiosity and thirst for knowledge that drives me toward continuous and never-ending improvement (CANI). I know that I will never stop learning new things because I love it so much. I am so grateful that nothing destroyed this curiosity (as happens to a number of people) in their earlier years. I have tons of people to thank for that too. I could rattle 10+ off the top of my head that have played critical roles in getting me here today. --- as you can see, being grateful isn't terribly challenging. It is sometimes hard to TRULY feel the gratitude, but when you do (especially after practicing more and recognizing it in your life) it feels wonderful. You can't help but improve your life after expressing your thanksgiving on a daily basis!

I love my life. :)