Words like gratitude, thankfulness, and appreciation are not uncommon to most of us.

We’ve been told again and again of the benefits of being thankful, or how showing appreciation can turn your day around (like this cool experiment¹), yet it is not as easy to put to practice. Is it really THAT challenging to nurture a habit of gratitude?

It’s no surprise, though. Especially since we encounter negative energy often, sometimes on a daily basis.

Think about it: We wake up and have our breakfast while reading not-so-positive reports on the daily papers. Then as we begin our commute to work, we are greeted by unsmiling faces that hint to us that there is nothing good to look forward to. Once we get to work, colleagues greet us and get settled at their desks, not before sharing their dread about work – either a tough meeting coming up, a project not turning out right, or just another complaint about the overbearing superiors. And all that takes place within the FIRST few hours of the day! This is what we’re used to.

Every single day?! You’ve got to be kidding!

I realized that it’s not that we did not like being thankful; it’s just a little challenging to keep an attitude of gratitude for the whole day because of what we are usually exposed to, as well as the way we have been conditioned. It is shocking, the amount of energy we spend on negative thoughts and actions.

So I sought ways to begin developing a habit of appreciation. I began by identifying areas in my life that I thought could be better, and I sought to find something to be thankful for from each of these areas, DAILY.

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