The quickest, most effective way to feel good now

Whatever is going on in your life there is a very simple, quick practice you can do to feel better.

It’s called gratitude.

Why gratitude? Because gratitude is a powerful practice to open your heart and shift your energy into a positive state. Why do we want to be in a positive state? Well apart from the obvious it’s that feeling good attracts more good-feeling things and experiences into your life. And vice versa.

Have you ever had one of those days where you got out of bed on the wrong side, your morning coffee was cold, you broke your heel on the way to work and were late to an important meeting? Although it may feel like it, the universe isn’t conspiring against you, however it is giving you more of the same.

Have you heard the phrase ‘like unto itself is drawn’? Well that is exactly how life works. If we are being negative and down in the dumps, we’ll get more of that. If we’re being positive and feeling good, we’ll get more of that. As we all want more good-feeling things in our lives, it makes sense to choose to feel good more of the time, right?

So that’s where gratitude comes in. Everyday the first thing I do when I wake up is to choose three things I am grateful for. If times are rough it can feel hard to shift into gratitude, so sometimes I just say ‘I’m grateful for my bed, for sleep and for having a roof over my head’. There are literally thousands of big and little things in our lives we can be grateful for, no matter what the circumstances are at the time.

Of course practicing gratitude will not stop difficult and sad experiences happening to us, we will lose loved ones and have challenges, that’s part of life. But gratitude will be a beacon of light and a moment of relief in the darker times. I had a very difficult few years recently; divorce and ill health, among other things. Practicing gratitude did not take away my grief or pain, but it did open my heart to the beauty and love that was all around me.

Many, many inspiring and successful people name gratitude as the cornerstone of their mindset practice, such as Oprah, Jim Rohn and Brene Brown.

Why not give it a go? It’s just a couple of moments, first thing in the morning, to choose three things you are grateful for. There’s absolutely nothing to lose.

Written by Gemma Ford