I’m about to let you all in on one of the best secrets I’ve found for creating a joy-filled life for yourself and your family!!!

We’ve all had times where we felt like we were missing out on something…Maybe it was a newer car or a bigger house. Maybe it was peace of mind, a happy family or feeling connected to others and feeling appreciated. Whatever it was, we’ve all experienced feeling a lack in our lives…

So, what can we do when we feel like that?

The secret to increased self-esteem, joy and well-being is to… practice gratitude!

Gratitude helps us see what is there instead of what isn’t. It helps us focus on the good things in our lives and pay less attention to the bad.
Gratitude changes the way we frame our world and the things happening around us.

Why it works…

Dr. Summer Allen wrote an article called, The Science of Gratitude, for the Greater Good Science Center at Berkeley. In the article, researchers had found that practicing gratitude helped the test subjects increase their joy, bond with others and have less anxiety.

Gratitude cancels out negativity! Practicing gratitude encourages us to notice when good things happen instead of just acclimating to the positive change… we stop taking things for granted!
Bonding with others is easier when we feel grateful because we see ourselves benefiting from someone else’s kindness, so we feel valued and encouraged to treat them in ways that will prolong that relationship.
Practicing gratitude helps reduce anxiety too! When we train ourselves to reframe our situations in a positive light we feel less regret for past decisions, greater satisfaction with our lives and are more resilient when faced with new challenges.

3 women laughing on bench — Gratitude helps us to train our minds to see what’s there instead of what isn’t, to focus on abundance not lack.

Practice gratitude as a family

Dr. Allen also discovered that it didn’t matter how the subjects showed their thankfulness, all forms of gratitude produced the positive results!

Dinner Discussion or Bedtime Routine - Every night at dinner, or before bed, have everyone take turns saying what they are thankful for. (This has become a nightly tradition for us and our kids never let us forget to do it!)
Thank You Notes - write thank you notes for other family members and then hide them around the house for them to find later. Or mail them to friends and out-of-town relatives."
Make thank you cards for community helpers (think: fire fighters, mail carriers, doctors, teachers etc) around town and take your kids to deliver them!
Fill A Jar - write what you and your family are grateful for on little pieces of paper. Fold up and put into a large jar. Each family member gets their own color of paper or ink. Put the jar in a place where everyone can see it. Celebrate when the jar is filled with pizza or ice cream and read all of the notes together!
Thankful Thursdays - each Thursday, choose one person for your family to show gratitude to. As a family, make them a card or call/ FaceTime them together! Older kids could even post a thank you on Instagram!
Grateful Tree - perfect for Spring or Thanksgiving! Cut paper leaves (orange, red and yellow for Fall or shades or green for Spring/Summer) either by hand or with a cutting machine like a Cricut. Everyone writes one thing to be grateful for on a leaf each day. Punch hole in leaf, add string and tie to branches. (boho wrapped branches make this project extra special)

When we practice gratitude we create a more joyful life for ourselves and our family. We are happier, less stressed and feel closer to our friends and loved ones!

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