The Mind-Changing Power of Giving Thanks

Sometimes I catch myself being super negative, especially when I’m hungry or haven’t gotten enough sleep. It’s a dangerous, slippery slope because once I start being critical, suddenly I see fault in everything.

Which is why it’s so powerful to practice thanksgiving.

For a bit now I’ve been trying to regularly stop and take time to list something I’m grateful for. Spoiler alert: It’s not always something big or fancy. Hot beverages show up a lot on my lists haha. It can be anything that brings me joy or that I recognize as helpful.

And you know what? Even just writing down one thing a day has been changing my mindset because I start to look around me for things to be thankful for.

I’m essentially working to train my brain to be more positive.

Which I love! I want to be a person who is thankful, gracious, and full of joy even on hard days.

So this is a part of my journey to be that person.

If you want to try it out with me, just try jotting down something you’re thankful for each day. No pressure, no huge time commitment, and no need to make it super complicated or fancy. Just recognizing the good in our days and hopefully training our minds to be more positive.

As a writer, this is especially important since writing can be very emotional work that requires self-motivation and self-validation.

While we do need to be critical of our work, we also need to recognize the good and celebrate even minor victories. If we get caught up in negative thought patterns it can be detrimental to our mental well being as well as our craft.

I don’t want us to be miserable, suffering artists.

So! Being thankful. It can transform our thinking, inspire our writing, and bring joy to our lives.

Here’s a month’s worth of things I’ve been thankful for lately:

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What are you thankful for today? 🙂