Gratitude-the feeling or expression of thankfulness

The Truth About Gratitude

Does anyone else’s heart sink when it is suggested they do a gratitude journal? It is one of the many tools offered in the wellbeing world said to lead you back to happiness.

With the overwhelming number of suggested practices where do you begin? What gives you the most return for your effort? You do not have limitless resources although your screen time might suggest otherwise if only self control were easier. So where do you start?

For me the answer has always been to follow my inner guidance. That is what has served me best and it is what led me to a deeper truth about gratitude.

At first gratitude felt like another thing to feel guilty about not doing or something impossible to find in my body. What does it actually feel like? I was not sure. It felt less like an emotion and more like an idea in my head about things I thought I should be grateful for.

A Different First Step

So what was the first step my intuition asked me to take. It was to thank people.

I began a simple practice of thanking people for the smallest things and telling them the difference it had made to me. Often it was by text the next day. As it became habitual I noticed a shift in my relationships and in how I experienced the world.

I realised I had been carrying expectations. Certain things felt like they should be provided for me. It was as though some people in my life had signed up to deliver support and that belief created blindness when things were done and irritation when they were not.

I kept an unintentional score sheet. What I was providing and what I deserved in return. I have spent all day caring for the children so I deserve a break. When that break came there was no gratitude because I believed I was owed it.

Can you see how easily what is offered in your life can be overlooked and how appreciation disappears as a result?

The Practice in Real Life

As I continued thanking people it felt clunky at first. To name the difference something had made required self reflection and vulnerability. That was easier with strangers but with friends and family it felt like showing my underbelly.

Yet the benefits appeared quickly and I began to notice how much was being offered willingly. I started to feel more love in the world.

Strangers became friends as I moved through life with an openness to support and the gratitude I expressed for it. I noticed intuitive nudges to offer help or to ask for it. People felt more generous and people I might once have avoided became approachable.

My world opened up and I grew more curious. I was guided toward people who had strengths I needed and who could also receive something from me. Sometimes that gift was practical but often it was simply to truly see and appreciate someone who had quietly shifted the course of my day.

Your Turn

What does gratitude feel like in your body rather than your thoughts?
Where might appreciation be blocked by expectation?
And what could change if you began by simply thanking the people already in your life?