GRATITUDE - Ramp up your RETURN ON INVESTMENT

My day starts with being thankful before my feet hit the floor.  I find this gives me a minute to wake up and sets the tone for the whole morning.

I am fortunate to daily be thankful for a solid list of family members and friends in my life. 

I pretty much give thanks by naming people, and then good health and my nice home and a few other changing items are usually listed.  But basically, my thanks is in the form of a list.

Robert Emmons, a leading researcher on gratitude, insists that journaling is among the best ways to find out about yourself, uncover what you are truly grateful for and develop discipline in the action of daily journaling.

Further, a University of California study found that in order to get the biggest ROI on gratitude, details were needed.  The details about the gratefulness are what yielded the highest dividends.

Emmons found that developing and writing down 5 sentences about one thing or one person gave the greatest Gratitude ROI.

I love to write, but I’ve never been much for journaling.  And since I don’t plan to journal in bed, I still will do my morning thanks right when I get up,  in whatever fashion the thanks come to me.  

But, I am interested in increasing my Gratitude Return On Investment, so I will try adding the journaling. 

Today I tried it out, and I will continue to see how effective it is for me.  At the moment, I am committed to doing this every day for one week. I find the best way to stick to a new commitment is to start out with a doable timeframe, and in this case, one week seems doable for me.

Do you know your ‘doable commitment timeframe’?  It is the period of time that you will have success in sticking to your challenge, no matter what else comes up.  

Who doesn’t want the biggest ROI?  Who doesn’t want to feel empowered by succeeding with your own challenge?

However, all the research in the world won’t matter.  Studies and research show what works for Most People.  YOU and I are not ‘most people’.  We are individuals and need to learn and recognize what works for us.

Choose the challenge, so that you can be successful, and then build from there.  Whether it is gratitude, career building, weight loss, running a 5K or marathon, or any life challenge that you take on…………  

Set yourself up for success with small steps. Make sure you notice your progress and feel good about accomplishments - maybe even set up a reward with each small step.  Then, keep building on those successes.  

We are more likely to keep succeeding when we feel happy about our accomplishments and empowered by even the smallest successful step:)

So, here is my first attempt at one area in my life that I am grateful. 

I am thankful for my good health. 

1. It is so great to hold and play with my two grand babies with ease, solid balance and enough strength to make the time with them effortless and fun!
2. I like that I am pain free in my movements throughout my day.
3. I love that I can walk quickly and with ease wherever I go.
4. Going to my yoga classes at Tejas Yoga Studio is a joy, not an exercise chore.
5. Having good balance, strength and stamina make me feel vibrant, energetic and ready to start each new day, so that I can continue to engage in any physical activities I choose.

In writing these down, I actually enjoyed identifying the details, and it did focus me more, brought me a stronger sense of gratitude and renewed my commitment about my health.  So far, pretty good:)

Give it a try and let me know what you think!


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