One of my goals for this year is to be more positive and something that has really helped me achieve this is gratitude. Whenever I have a bad day, it sometimes feels like I can’t take my mind off of the bad event. I constantly think about it and I don’t feel like doing anything else. But recently, I have started to train myself, whenever I feel this way, to think about three things that I am grateful for from that day. Sometimes I easily find two and struggle to find the third and other times I can find all three easily, but there was never a time that I can’t find all three things. I try not to pick simple things like my family, home, and food because those are easy and it doesn’t take much thought to come up with them. I am always grateful for my wonderful family, the food on my plate, and the roof over my head. Instead, I go through every moment of the day, both good and bad, and pick three things/people/ideas that made me smile and that I am grateful for. Here’s an example:
There was a day, about a month ago when I was upset over something that happened with a few of my friends. I couldn’t get my mind off of it and I continued to think about why that happened and whether or not it was my fault. It was just a mindset that I didn’t like being in. After I came home and sat down to do my homework, I couldn’t focus because all I could think about was that event and thoughts related to it. I would finish a math problem and my mind would go straight back to that. After an hour or so, I stopped everything that I was doing, closed my eyes, and picked three things that I was grateful for that day. For that day, it was some friends who made me laugh my head off in computer science, my computer science teacher who is honestly one of the best teachers I could have ever asked for, and my parents who never fail to amaze me. It took me only about two minutes to come up with all of these and afterward, I felt so much better and in a much better mindset.
I feel like when we force ourselves to shift our mindset to something positive and things that make us happy, we tend to remember the positive feelings associated with those positive moments/people/things. I know there are people who text themselves or write in a journal three-five things that they were grateful for that day before they go to bed. Although I don’t have the discipline to do that, just thinking positively and thinking of things that I am grateful for whenever I am having a bad day has really helped me shift to a positive mindset overall. When we find the things we are grateful for and recognize them more often, we tend to find happiness in the small things and everyday moments rather than waiting for big moments that don’t happen so often. While waiting for the “big moments” to come our way, we often tend to forget the small things that make us smile… a best friend, a favorite dish, family, a favorite song, teachers/professors/colleagues, etc.
I request you all, to stop whatever you are doing right now and think of three things you are grateful for today. No matter how simple they may seem. You will be amazed how many things you can think of 🙂
Akshara Akella 