Last week, I woke up in a particularly excellent mood. Which to my pleasant surprise, lasted a solid 48 hours before it was temporarily diluted, as is expected. Things that went right: I was having a good hair day, had enough time to cook myself scrambled eggs for breakfast, and dropped off Alex at the office, on my way to work. And sure, it was a breezy, light, gorgeous fall morning. But more than that, I felt happy, and content, and full of joy on my way out the door.
There are about 99 things hanging over my head at the moment (more than 75% is wedding related, of course), but at that particular moment, none of it mattered. Life was (and still is) good. The rest of the day, and even the next day, that bliss carried on.
OK, so the point of telling you that story about a random Wednesday morning, that nothing specifically good happened was this:
How can we keep that glow and light going? How can we bottle it up, and sip on it later? In times where we really need it the most, when things are looking blue?
Because there seriously is nothing I want more in this world than to figure out the secret of sustaining gratitude. With that said, here are a two small tips that I’ve found can be useful for just that. Though, I know it’s never as easy, or simple, as a neat little bullet list makes it seem.
1. SPECIFICITY
Currently, I feel ridiculously lucky to be in our little yellow house. But what about the little yellow house am I grateful for? Keeping it specific, and getting into the details makes the connection stronger, and more real. Instead of saying how grateful I am for our little yellow house, I now talk about being grateful for the warm, comfortable living room that makes binge reading so wonderful. I’m grateful for the relaxing, blissful little patio we have, and that our bedroom looks out to it. See? Aren’t specifics much better?
2. SHARE THE GRATITUDE
Sure, this seems really simple, but by telling others how they’re apart of your bliss and joy in this world, it’ll make that person feel really great too. I don’t know too much, but what I do know, is that people love hearing how much you love them, and / or things they’re wonderful at. And hey, what’s better than throwing around a little love? Going back to something my friend Doug said, be a nice guy, share the joy.
What are some things or tips or tricks you have to sustaining your gratitude?