If you’re a fan of inspirational and motivational speakers like I am, you must have noticed how at one point or another, they all pull out the word Gratitude from their bag of tricks. Gabrielle Bernstein talks about it in her books, Kris Carr shared something about it on Facebook a few days ago, Joe Vitale talks about it in The Secret, Dr. Wayne Dyer mentions it in The Shift, and Deepak Chopra and Oprah have even created a whole 21-Day meditation experience about it!
Gratitude seems to be the key to just about everything you desire – especially if it’s Happiness or Abundance! So what do we do here? I’d say, let’s not waste one more minute and set up our Gratitude Gym!
Why?
Because gratitude does not always come automatically. Gratitude is a habit, and our Gratitude muscles need to be trained! The more we get to practise, the quicker and the easier it will be to make Gratitude a part of our everyday life, so let’s do this!
Step 1: Where?
Find a place in your house where you spend time every day. Of course, you could also choose a designated space in a room where you never usually go, but just like a gym, if you need to go out of your way to get there, chances are you might give up after a while. Make your gym accessible. If that means setting it up in your car, in your kitchen, on your bathroom mirror or even on your toilet door, THAT’S FINE!
(And for the techies out there, your mobile phone or computer could also be an option: check out the next step!)
Step 2: How?
Once you’ve chosen the location, take a minute and close your eyes. What are you grateful for? It might be people, places, your job, your house, your car, anything. Name 5 to 10 things. Done? Alright. Now, try to represent as many items as possible in your Gratitude gym: they’re going to be your workout machines!
You could use a piece of cardboard and draw/pin pictures on it. If you’re into technology, it could be a Pinterest board, or a picture collage set as your desktop wallpaper or your mobile phone screen saver. You could use small objects and create a nice arrangement in a corner of your desk. Let your creativity run wild: as long as it works for you, that’s perfect!
Gym set. What now?
Once you’ve got your gym set, all you need to do is start working out! You can set specific times during the day, or go every time you’ve got some free time on your hands, you choose. But I recommend you do it at least twice a day. Morning, and evening, just so you start and close the day on a good note, take a look at the different elements and connect with the feeling of Gratitude. As you breathe into that feeling, let your body memorise what it feels like.
When I was preparing this, I decided to pull a card from my truthbombs deck for inspiration and HA! I couldn’t have pulled a better card: “Gratitude attracts more things to be grateful for”. Indeed. The more we train our muscles to be grateful, the easier it gets. One day you won’t even need to think about it, it will come naturally, and before you even realise, Happiness and Abundance will follow!
Would you like to jump start your Gratitude training? Sign up for the 7-Day Gratitude Fest starting August 1. Just like when you work out, it’s always more fun when you’ve got workout buddies. There’s already a few of us waiting eagerly! Share this article with your friends and invite them to join in as well: Let’s create a ripple effect and spread good vibes!
Oh, and don’t forget to share a picture of your Gratitude gym using the hashtag #7DayGratitudeFest !
Annick Ina is a transformational coach and multi-passionate entrepreneur. She is the founder of Hello YOUniverse, a lifestyle blog where she talks about the power of authenticity and inspires other women to step into their light, by sharing on her own story and the teachings of her mentor, Gabrielle Bernstein. Follow her on Facebook and let her quirky videos inspire you.