How to extend and deepen your gratitude practice.

Most people interested in their personal development and wellbeing, understand the many benefits of a personal gratitude practice. 

But simply asking yourself "what am I grateful for? " in the same way every day can get a little repetitive. It's a bit like saying the same word over and over and over again. In time the question can lose its meaning.

So how can we keep it fresh? 

Try these gratitude switch ups! 

1. Change the way you word it! 

Instead of asking yourself "what am I grateful for?" ask, "what 3 things did I enjoy today?" or try asking, "what do l really appreciate about my life?".

Changing the way you ask it and words you use directs your attention in subtly different ways.

Notice how different it feels to ask, for example, "what am I grateful FOR?" compared to "what am I'm grateful OF".

The way you word it makes a difference. 

2. Change what you are grateful for. 

Of course, you are grateful for your kids, or your health, but did you notice the sunrise, or the smell of freshly cut grass, or the fact that when you look, your eyes can see?

Changing what you are attending to in your practice, helps you spread your gratitude throughout your whole experience. There is always more to notice and always more to be grateful for.

3. Change the temporal scope. 

You can change the scope of time you attend to. For example, you can ask "what did I enjoy today?" or "what did I enjoy yesterday?”. This shifts your gratitude through time.

But you can also spread your gratitude across time and context by asking "what was I grateful for this week?' Or "this year?" or "what's great about my life as a whole?”. These questions shift the span of attention.

You can also ask "what am I grateful for NOW?" and "what am I ALWAYS grateful of?".

These subtle changes create subtly different effects. "Now" is a curious experience. It can mean this moment, this week, this year, this millennium. Depending on HOW you do it, NOW can be experienced subjectively, in subtly different ways!

Using ALWAYS is another way to create a continuity of gratitude.

I hope you enjoy adding these small changes to your gratitude practice. And I hope that you might experiment with your own creativity to extend your practice in new ways.

These small shifts can help you keep your gratitude practice fresh and meaningful.

I hope it helps you appreciate there is always so much more to learn about your personal development and ourselves. 

And for that we can be forever grateful!