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| Full rainbow last night after a storm! |
You guys, I am SO EXCITED! I just discovered my favorite new podcast. I couldn’t wait to wake up this morning to write this post and share it with you!
Quick back story… If you read “My Gratitude Journey” post (link here) that I wrote a while back, you will remember that I said I had a pivotal moment in my life that made me dive into studying gratitude. Well, when that happened, the very first book that I read was called The Gratitude Diaries.
I LOVED this book. I actually listened to it as an audiobook (my local library has it!) and I found it transformative. It was what really kick-started this whole interest of mine in practicing gratitude everyday and learning more about the benefits.
When I finished the book, I was sad, because listening to it each day was really helping me to keep that “gratitude attitude” front and center each day. I was worried that without those reminders, I might start to forget about it.
Well! That was a few years ago, and I haven’t forgotten about gratitude. In fact, I now have 2 ½ years’ worth of daily gratitude entries stored inside these calendar boxes.
On January 1, 2018 I started recording my gratitude entries on the back of these daily desk calendar pages, and it has been by far the most successful, consistent method of keeping a gratitude journal I have found. I inevitably change my calendar page each day, so when I do, I write my gratitude entry. It’s that simple! I never miss a day. Habit stacking, I believe the experts call it. 😊
Anyway, back to what I was saying about Janice Kaplan’sbook. So, I haven’t forgotten about gratitude, clearly, because I started a blog based on gratitude and keep a daily gratitude journal. But I do feel that I might not think about it in the same way or as constantly as when I was listening to her book every day! The book was just full of such fantastic, actionable advice.
Well, good news for me!! The author of this great book has now just released a new, DAILY podcast also called “The Gratitude Diaries”! Each day she will share tips, insights, inspiration, research and encouragement all related to gratitude and how we can have more of it in our lives and why we should. The episodes are short- 5-8 minutes- perfect for me to listen to while I get ready in the morning putting in my contacts and flossing my teeth.
Her first episode right away had some fascinating statistics and facts about “Why Gratitude Matters”. In it, she cites an article in the Journal of Clinical and Social Psychology that found that “gratitude may have the highest connection to mental health and happiness of any of the personality traits studied”. She shares that the study also concluded that “close to 20% of the differences in people’s happiness could be predicted by the amount of gratitude they express.”
Wow! 20%?? That’s huge. And if gratitude has the highest connection of any trait to mental health and happiness, sign me up to get better at it!! What do we have to lose? I truly do feel happier, overall, since I have been practicing gratitude consistently. The more you practice it, the more it just becomes a way of life.
The more we look for opportunities to be grateful every day, the more we start seeing things to be grateful for! 😊
Check out The Gratitude Diaries book and now DEFINITELY the podcast! I’m so excited to have a new little bright spot in my morning.
In closing, one other awesome gratitude-related visual I stumbled across the other day that I just love:
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| photo credit from @taliasplate on Instagram |
What a reminder! What if we all had a place like this in our homes, where we tallied up our blessings every day instead of our complaints?? Pretty powerful!
Daily Gratitude:
Today I’m grateful that my sister-in-law was willing to come over and water my plants while we were away. She also took care of the hamsters! I’m grateful for her time and willingness to help us out, asking nothing in return. 😊
GRATEFUL KAE 
I will have to check out this podcast sometime. I like that it is short! I listen to way fewer podcasts these days since I don't have a commute anymore and haven't been able to go for walks in this ridiculous heat/humidity. But hopefully this humid stretch breaks soon so I can get back to my lunch-time walks and get more podcast listening in!
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I am a huge podcast listener and have already started catching up on this one! I have a commute and plan to listen to the Gratitude Diaries first thing when I get in the car – I know it will make my commute better and maybe the other drivers won't bother me as much. Thanks for the recommendation!
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I'm glad you are liking it! I find it so uplifting and positive too. Definitely a great way to start the day! 🙂
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i'm loving this! getting the podcast and start listening!for years I found the gratitude thing is soooo cheesy but recently I am doing it and I totally get it now. It's like switching my brain to a different channel. thanks for the inspiration.
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It does take some getting used to, but it's so worth it! I used to feel that way too a little bit, but I think when you see the pay off, you realize the benefits are real.
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