#128 - CAN PRACTICING GRATITUDE REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN YOUR LIFE?

 

Hello & welcome back!

Well, we’ve all heard many times about the power and impact of practicing gratitude, BUT is it really all it’s made out to be?

Can it really make the huge difference that so many people tell you it can?

I have to say, that in my experience the answer is a resounding ‘yes’ and ‘yes’ and I share my experience, explain why and show you how on this weeks episode.

Some of the key things you'll learn in this episode:

  • There is such simple magic in putting pen to paper and jotting daily in a journal about what you’re grateful for - and 5 mins a day is all you need.
  • The science is clear – there are so many benefits from being grateful.
  • Expressing gratitude regularly is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness, improved health, better relationships and resilience thru adversity.
  • There is always something to be grateful for and as with everything, the more you practise being grateful, the more genuinely grateful you become.
  • Practicing gratitude journaling doesn’t mean you have pretend you’re constantly happy or have a 24/7 smile. It’s not about any sort of false positivity.
  • It's normal for people to have a bias towards ruminating on what’s not going right in life – that’s how our brains are wired sadly - but gratitude journaling is your place and time to push that aside.
  • Consistency is key, and to help with consistency it helps to use a journal you love – and to set a daily evening routine. Keep your gratitude journal by your bed for example and turn to it when you jump into bed.


So let your gratitude journal be your daily companion and guide to cultivating a grateful mindset. Just follow along and enjoy the ride and all of the benefits that will come your way.

And remember, it’s great to hear insights like the ones I’ve shared with you here, but the important thing is to move from inspiration to action - and to put your insights into practice to help transform your experience of life.

So, take time to reflect on what resonates with you in this episode - and decide what actions you'll take as a result.

I really urge you to try gratitude journaling for a month and see how it feels.

As a very special offer to my Dream Life podcast listeners around the world, I’m giving you a promo code that you can use to take A$5 off when you buy yourself one of our new Dream Life Gratitude journals from The Dream Life Store. The code is ‘verygrateful5’ – and it’s going to be valid for 2 weeks only (from Friday 17th June 2022 to midnight AEST on 1st July 2022). Use it at checkout.

Please take me up on that offer and see for yourself how amazing it can be to set yourself up with a regular gratitude practice.

ENJOY!

Dream Life Founder  
PS: And you can learn more about practicing gratitude in my blog here...
 

SHOW NOTES:

  • Find our Gratitude Journal here. Available in a range of designs.
  • Check out the Daily Wins journal we've created, which also includes the practice of daily gratitude in a journaling routine - here... 
  • Learn more about my Personal Growth Club - GROW here.
  • Join the Dream Life Podcast Facebook Group here - and jump into discussions and learning with like-minded people.
  • If you love this episode, don’t forget to subscribe for more inspiration – and please tell us what you thought by leaving us a review! 

 

RESOURCES:

 

My dream is to inspire and empower 101 million people around the world, just like you, to write down three dreams, and go chase them!  

 

Transcription:

 

S1 00:03

What would you do with your life if you knew you couldn't fail? if you had all the money, all the time, all the knowledge, all the resources that you needed, what would you do with your life if you simply knew that anything was possible for you? My name is Kristina Karlsson, founder of global Swedish design and inspiration brand, Dream Life and author of the book, Your Dream Life Starts Here. And I love exploring these sorts of questions to inspire people like you to chase your own dream life, whatever that means for you. Many years ago, I wrote down a dream on paper that would one day bring Swedish design to the world and create beautiful, inspiring, and meaningful product that would bring sparks of joy into the everyday lives of millions. Now that I have achieved that dream, I want to leverage everything I've learned to help you dream big and to create a global movement, to inspire 101 million people to transform their lives and transform the world in return. Each episode will dive deep into the power of dreaming and share real insights and practical ideas that you can use immediately to build a dream life of your own, whatever that means for you.

S1 01:22

Hello and welcome back. So I'm just going to do a solo today, and I want to focus on something that is so good if you do implement this in your own life, and that is gratitude. We have all heard many times about the power and impact of practising gratitude, but is it really all it's made out to be? Can it really make a huge difference that so many people tell us it can? I have to say that in my own experience, the answer is a resounding yes and yes. Practising gratitude regularly is amazing. For me, gratitude is part of my everyday life. I practice gratitude every single day. The first thing I do when I wake up before I even get out of bed, I take three deep breath and I think about three things I'm grateful for. I love doing this as that is all that I'm focusing on when I'm taking my three deep breath. And I actually don't just think about it. I actually feel grateful with my whole body. It's actually quite amazing, but I also practice gratitude before I go to bed and write down three things I'm grateful for.

S1 02:30

So how can you use a gratitude journal to transform your life? There is such a simple magic in putting pen to paper and jotting daily in a journal about what you are grateful for. It's so easy. It takes less than five minutes a day yet makes such a positive and immediate impact on your happiness, well-being and state of mind, no matter what life happens to be throwing at you. So for example, if you had a really tough day or something happened that made you stress or sad or angry, gratitude can completely change that. Last night, I wrote down my three things I was grateful for, and I had just finished my Monday night live call with my personal growth/book club. And I just feel so inspired after that each Monday night. So I was so grateful for that, for having a community that I just love. And the second thing I was grateful for and I'm currently travelling and I brought my son, Axel on this work trip. And I was feeling so grateful to be able to bring him and combine work and family, so I wrote down that. And the last thing I was grateful for was the inspiring meetings that I had yesterday. And I actually added an extra grateful last night because I felt so grateful to stay in a beautiful hotel with a comfortable bed. The science is clear. There are so many benefits from being grateful as it fires up multiple areas of our brain [responsible?] for creating mood-boosting chemicals like serotonin and dopamine. Expressing gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness, improved health, better relationships and resilience through adversity.

S1 04:14

I have been practising and teaching daily gratitude for over two decades. I have researched and created numerous gratitude journals over the years, and I know that expressing simple and genuine gratitude daily on paper is one of the fastest and most effective ways of positively impact well-being, which is why I have just loved creating so many different gratitude journals over the years. Based on my experience, I have now created the very best gratitude I know, beautifully designed if I can say that myself, making the process easy for you. I like to keep it really simple and do three grateful every single night. And then in the journal, I've sprinkled with positive and encouraging affirmations or quotes to touch your heart and inspire you to feel good. You can find it at The Dream Life Store if you want it, just thedreamlifestore.com. It comes in a range of beautiful designs and you can personalise the cover with your name or the name of the person you are gifting it to. I love this journal and I know you will too, whether it's for yourself or a gift for someone special. I think it's such a beautiful gift to give someone, the inspiration for them to be grateful. There is always something to be grateful for. And as with everything, the more you practice being grateful, the more genuinely grateful you become. And practising gratitude journaling doesn't mean you have to pretend you're constantly happy or have a 24/7 smile. It's not about any sort of false positivity. It's about actually finding the thousands of things in your life that you can be genuinely and authentically grateful for, and even if you are feeling completely awful, and believe me, I have been there, you can find so many things. Just take five minutes a day for yourself. Take three deep, slow breath, and then let the journal guide you to start noticing then jotting on paper, positive things you are genuinely grateful for, small things, big things, and everything in between.

S1 06:14

Start by thinking about the things we take for granted. Things that comes to mind for me is the fresh air you breathe, your heart pumping without you having to do anything, your freedom, the simple beauty of flowers you saw recently, the doctor who trained for years to be able to help you and your loved ones, your friends who's there when you need them, the legs that carry you each day, what went well for you today and the people you love, perhaps, being able to see and hear the authors who share their wisdom so you can learn from them. And then, of course, there's some that comes up daily, regardless of what's happening in the world. There are thousands of things like that when you stop and think about it. The idea is to be prompted by this gratitude journal to identify and be thankful for things in your life that are positive, no matter how simple or how small. It's so very normal for people to have a bias towards ruminating on what's not going right in life. That's how our brains are wired, sadly, but gratitude journaling is your place and time to push that aside. It's your daily retreat to find and reflect on the beauty and positivity of your life. Challenge yourself to find at least three things each day that you are genuinely grateful for, and be sure to look for a wide range of different and unique positives day by day to get the most from the practice. When you practice gratitude daily, a tough day turns into be a better one and you train your brain to be more mindful of the little things in life, in turn, feeling much more positive, even in the most challenging times. Consistency is key and to help with consistency, I find it helps to use a beautiful journal you love and to set a routine in the evening, keeping your gratitude journal by your bed, for example, and turn to it when you jump into bed is a really good way practising a gratitude ritual.

S1 08:04

Let your journal be your daily companion and guide to cultivating a grateful mindset. And remember, it's great to hear insights like the ones I've shared with you today here, but the most important thing is to move from inspiration to action and to put your insights into practice, to help transform your experience of life. So take a minute to reflect on what you just heard here today and decide what actions you are going to take as a result. One thing I'm often grateful for is that I have people just like you, who listens to my podcast. So as a little gratitude special offer to my Dream Life podcast listeners around the world, I'm going to give you a promo code that you can use to take $5 off when you buy yourself one of the new Dream Life gratitude journals from The Dream Life Store. The code is verygrateful5 and it's going to be valid for two weeks only, from Friday the 17th of June, 2022 to midnight on the 1st of July, 2022. Please take me up on this offer and see for yourself how amazing it can be to set yourself up with a regular gratitude practice. And please let me know in our Dream Life podcast Facebook group, how you feel about what I've shared with you and what you will put into practice as a result. And then come back to let us know how it goes, so we can all learn from and be inspired by each other. You will get plenty of support there too. It's so good to be in groups of positive like-minded people. Have fun doing this, and I can't wait to hear how it goes. And until next week, dream big and don't forget to be grateful.


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