Gratitude Practice For Building Strength

When my 2nd daughter was born and I was in the depths of adrenal fatigue with a baby and a 2 year old there was something that helped pull me out of the darkness and despair.

Gratitude practice

I remember the resistance I felt as I internally rolled my eyes as my friend's suggestion yet I kept seeing it suggested for depression in the mummy forums I was in at the time.

So I gave it a go.

My practice didn't look 'instagram worthy' nor was it a sacred quiet time for myself.

All I could manage was to scribble 3 things I was grateful for on my toddler's easel as I sat on the floor surrounded by toys and the constant noise of children being children.

I remember how hard it was to find anything (I'd already decided that I wouldn't include the same thing everyday)

Focus on the small things

I can't remember the other 2 things I wrote that first day of gratitude practice but I do remember I wrote

'A hot cup of tea'

Any mum with tiny ones will know that becomes a rare thing for a while and you become quite accustomed to cold tea.

At the time I scoffed at how pathetic this felt.

Yet I stayed with it each day, committed to finding 3 small things that brought me joy that I felt grateful for.

And as the days went on I started to write more and more.

One day I filled the whole huge piece of paper on the easel.

At the end of the day I couldn't say EVERYTHING was shit because I had evidence that actually there were these small moments of joy and the more I focussed on these the more they expanded.

Until the good days started to outnumber the bad days.

This was of course a snippet of my healing journey but it was the small action of gratitude practice that was the very first step.

I still note down the things I’m grateful for every day when I journal.

Do you have a gratitude practice? What are 3 small things today you can be grateful for?