The Spirit of the Season: Make a Gratitude List

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Sometimes, you may forget the little things that you’re grateful for in your life. However, if you have them in plain sight, it can help you reinforce your gratefulness — especially during the holiday season.

Why not write these things down on a gratitude list, and keep them close to you? If you find that you’re overwhelmed by negative feelings, refer to your list. It can serve as a way to reset your negativity.

Your Gratitude List: What to Include

It’s easy to get started: start listing the thing you are grateful for. If you get stuck, think about the people in your life. Who makes you happy? List the aspects of what those people do to make you happy. If you love the way your spouse smiles at you, write that down.

The things on the gratitude list can also be simple, such as reading the newspaper on the train. The point is, no item is too small to add to the list. Perhaps, you love the jokes that the coffee person tells you when you get your cup of coffee and your muffin. That can go on the list, too.

Your Gratitude List: An Endless List of Options

Your list should never be complete as you will find new experiences and people to add to it. Each day, there is potential for people to make a small difference in your life. But, remember that you make differences in other peoples’ lives as well. Try to make those experiences more positive than negative. If there are people around you who bring you down, either avoid them or try to help them to be more positive.

If you are the one bringing people down, you need to try and reverse this. The list will be a big factor in helping you. Negative and bitter feelings stem from not appreciating your life and all the things in it. That’s why keeping a list is so important.

Your Gratitude List: Paper or Digital?

You can choose to write your gratitude list on a piece of paper, or you can store it electronically. It doesn’t matter how you store it, but you want it to be accessible. Commit to reading it and update it regularly. Add to it as you find more things that you are grateful for in your life.

Maintaining this list could be the basis for a book that you write about appreciating your life. By publishing your list, you may help others do the same. When they read your ideas, they may get inspired to be grateful. Their lists will not likely be the same as yours, but people are different so it’s only natural their lists would be different.

I like the idea of a gratitude list during the holidays. It seems like it fits perfectly with the season — a season of joy and family and friends. Give it a try in the final days before the holiday and see if it helps with the stress of the season.