Reducing stress doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming to be effective.

Whenever I feel overwhelmed and negative, I take a few minutes to write in my gratitude diary and it works every single time.

Gratitude doesn’t eliminate my challenges or minimize them, but it stops me from spiralling down into depression. It calms me down by reminding me of all the good in my life, and by the time I’m done writing, I feel stronger, and I’m ready to face whatever is coming my way.

It’s been a pleasure to talk to Hannah Holden, host of “Let’s Talk About Stress Podcast” about how a consistent gratitude practise can help you to deal with short- and long- term stress, making you more resilient. You can listen in on our conversation on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. 

IN THIS PODCAST YOU’LL LEARN:

• How negativity bias increases your stress level and why gratitude can help you to offset some of that negativity
• The many other surprising benefits of gratitude – pick your favourite!
• A simple exercise that you can start doing right now – and involve your loved ones too!
• Why showing appreciation at work is important and why most companies get it wrong
• How to review your year through the lens of gratitude – and here’s your free template to do so
• My own experience with gratitude and what led me to creating my online program “My Gratitude Challenge”. If you’re thinking of joining the next round starting on February 6, tune in to find out why, what, when and how!

Want to go even further? Join my upcoming Vision Board Workshop on January 12, for an extra motivation to keep up with your resolutions and make your dreams come true in 2023. Learn more here.

Happy New Year! May it be a year where stress doesn’t consume us but motivates us to give our best!

With love,

Grab a pen and a warm drink, print this FREE template, fill it in, and give thanks that you’ve had another year to live, love and learn ❤️

This is a perfect exercise to pause and reflect on another eventful year and to dial up your gratitude practice, just in time for 2023.

I absolutely love this time of the year and taking a minute for myself to look back, to appreciate the good and to reflect on the silver linings in the hardships. It helps me to make sense of the past and to prepare myself for the future. It cements my learnings and highlights my blessings. It allows me to close this chapter of my life and it frees space in my head for the new and exciting.

It’ll be worth it. These 10 self-reflection questions are a great way to appreciate what you have and to make peace with the past before moving on to planning a wonderful 2023.

When you’re done writing your answers, you’ll feel happier, centered, and hopeful about the future, and that’s a promise. I know I did after completing this exercise.

Let me share with you what came up for me when I thought about the first question.

When I think about 2022, this is what I’m most grateful for:

What about you? Wat are you most grateful for when you think about 2022?

Let me know in the comments. I would absolutely love to know what stands out for you and why.

Answer this and the other 9 questions I’ve prepared for you and gain a new appreciation for all your experiences in 2022. It’s worth reminding yourself of all the good in your life over and over again, and especially if this year has challenged you beyond anything you thought possible. 

Here’s your template.

In 2023, make it a habit to regularly practise gratitude. Your capacity to deal with stress will increase, your mental health will improve, and you’ll stay healthy, joyful and calm – even when your outer world is in chaos.

Have a friend who loves journaling and would like to do this exercise with you?

Forward them blog post, encourage them to fill in the template and next time you meet – compare notes. I’m sure that you’ll have the most beautiful conversation.

Last year I ran a Vision Board Workshop exclusively for the Alumni of My Gratitude Challenge, but I’m excited to share that I’m opening it up this year to anyone! I’ll share more details very soon.

With love,

One of the questions I often get about gratitude is this one: can just 15 min of gratitude really make you happier and calmer? 🧐

The short answer is: yes but…

The long answer is: dedicating 15 minutes a day to appreciate all that is good in your life can help you to deal with whatever comes your way in a healthier way. May it be tackling your never-ending to-do list or dealing with life shuttering events like loss, illness or heartache…

When things go right, it’s easy to fall into the trap of taking them for granted.

When things go wrong, it’s easy to get hyper-focused on the negative and to lose sight of all the goodness in your life. And to spiral down into depression.

Wherever you’re now, learning how to find gratitude in everything that is unfolding for you, is the first step to becoming more resilient, happier and calmer.

Doing it once can be a quick mood-booster, but it will not result in any long-term benefits like better mental health, increased overall wellbeing, greater ability to cope with short- and long-term stress and it will not make you more resilient.

If you want to see the benefits, you need to stick with it.

Like with any other habit, learning to be grateful no matter what, takes time and practice. And as the habit guru B.J. Fogg said in “Tiny Habits”: “No behaviour happens without a prompt.”

Wake up, do whatever you need to do first thing in the morning and then sit down with your morning cup of a tea and start the cold, rainy, grey November day with a short video from My Gratitude Challenge. I promise that it will make you smile.

Give yourself the luxury of starting slow and on a high note. Taking the time to watch the video and to do your daily task will raise your vibrations, shift your perspective and help you to stay calm during the day, no matter what. Do that for 28 days in a row and it’ll become second nature and something that you’ll benefit from for a lifetime.

(and the registration closes this Sunday, October 23).

You only need to invest 15 minutes each day to reap the benefits, but I’ll bet my favourite sweeties that you’ll love certain tasks so much that you’ll gladly take more time to do them. Good for you! You deserve the time to take care of your mental health and wellbeing. Plus, I think you’ll love coming back each day:

This is your last chance to do the program in 2022.

This could be you:

With love,

I looked up from my phone and realised that 30 minutes have passed…

I only wanted to quickly check the news but before I knew it, I went down the rabbit hole and into a downward spiral of fear, anger and helplessness.

Wars around the world, natural disasters, discrimination and oppression, mass shootings, nuclear weapons, hunger, poverty, recession, scary diseases, people in power who shouldn’t be in power. The list goes on and on…

I closed my news app and sighed. I could feel the fear in my heart.

Even though rationally I know that not everything is bad, if I don’t look consciously at what is good, the fear takes over, my mental health deteriorates, and my mood goes down. I know now that practising gratitude every single day creates a protective layer around me that keeps me safe and well.

It’s not about sticking head in the sand and pretending that all is well. It’s about not losing sight of all these beautiful moments in our lives and acts of kindness around us, even when things are far from perfect. Our brain is primed to look for negativity and danger, so if we let it run wild, it can take us dark places we would rather not be.

Easier said than done?

For extra guidance on how to make gratitude a part of your daily routine, sign up to the next round of My Gratitude Challenge. Every day I’ll share something interesting about gratitude, give you tips on how to practice it and I’ll give you your daily prompt to do so too. The Challenge lasts 28 days and starts on November 7. You can register between now and October 28. Find out more here: mygratitudechallenge.com.

Do you know anyone who worries a lot?

Forward them this blog post or suggest doing the Challenge together. Keep each other accountable as you learn to look at the bright side more often than at the dark side.

Breathe. Smile. Count your blessing and carry on. 

Did you know that September 21 marks the World Gratitude Day? I didn’t but give me any excuse to strengthen my gratitude muscles and I’ll take it! 😊

Sri Chinmoy, an Indian spiritual teacher, is credited with ‘inventing’ this day at a Thanksgiving dinner in the United Nations’ meditation room back in 1965. Already a year later, many countries celebrated it for the first time.

It’s a day to raise awareness around the benefits of gratitude and to take the time to practice it.

Here are 3 ideas for celebrating the day:

1. Make a mental list of 10 good things in your life

Do it directly after you’ve finished reading this post. You only need 2-5 minutes. Close your eyes and think about everything that makes you happy. Give thanks that it’s part of your life. When listing your blessings, add ‘because’ to make it tangible and to deepen your feelings of gratitude, e.g.:

• ‘I’m so grateful to have my mom in my life because she’s such a great role model to me.’
• ‘I’m so grateful for my dog, because he makes me laugh every single day’.

Nothing is too big or too small to go on your gratitude list. It’s your list. 

Your turn:

• ‘I’m so grateful….. (to whom / for what) because…. (the impact it has on your life). Thank you!’

2. Make a phone call to say ‘thank you’

Is it a friend, a parent, a chid, a sibling, a cousin, a colleague, a teacher? Think about all these amazing people and why you’re grateful to have them in your life. Don’t overthink it.

If you need an excuse to make that call, say:

‘Did you know that today is the World Gratitude Day? It made me think of you so I’m calling to say how happy and grateful I’m to have you in my life because….’

Go make somebody happy now. It’s worth it 😊

3. Design your own gratitude jar (also great if you have kids!)

Feeling creative? You’ll love that one!

If you want to practice gratitude beyond today, making your own gratitude jar is a great way to do so. Pick a jar (glass, plastic, whatever you have at home) and make it your ‘designated’ gratitude jar. You can decorate it to make it as pretty as you wish. If you have kids, they will love getting engaged too. You can use the activity to introduce them to the topic of gratitude and to invite them to practice it with you.   

Find a place at home where the jar will live and put some colourful paper notes and a pen next to it. Write down at least one thing that you’re grateful for every single day and put it in the jar until it’s full. Once full, take it all out to read through and feel the good vibes!

Tip: this is a fun family activity just before or after dinner. It’s a great conversation starter too!

WANT MORE?

I’ve created a short video with three other ideas that you can implement in your daily routine. You can do them all ‘on the go’. Grab it for free here.

WANT EVEN MORE?!

Would you like to learn how to use gratitude to feel happier, calmer and more balanced, even when your outer world is in chaos? Join the next edition of My Gratitude Challenge starting on November 7! In this 28-day Challenge, you’ll move away from complaining and being negative to smiling more and noticing and appreciating with ease all that googness in your life. Registrations are now open. Read more and register here.

There’s a lot of talk about gratitude having a positive impact on our general health and wellbeing so you might have been tempted to give it a go but found it harder than expected.

Despite your best intentions, you couldn’t come up with more than 5 things to be grateful for: your home, your partner, your health, your parents, your cat… You felt like it wasn’t doing anything for you and stopped. Understandable.

We’ve learnt to look at what’s wrong with our lives, and not at what’s right.

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN:

WANT TO SEE WHAT GRATITUDE CAN DO FOR YOUR HEALTH?

Sign up to My Gratitude Challenge before August 21.

The next 28-day Challenge starts again on September 5, 2022 and I’ll show you how to see the glass always half full despite your circumstances. Every day has a theme, a 5-minute video and a task that will help you to develop a more grateful mindset. I’ll be by your side to help you find the good in your life and to put up a smile on your face 😊

Oh, and have I mentioned gifts…? The Challenge comes with a Gratitude Box full of delightful surprises that will help you to execute on your tasks, making the entire program not only impactful but also light and fun!

Learn more and register here.

Thanks for reading!