Why Gratitude Can Change Your Whole Day & Your Life

I’m going to start off this post by saying I have mixed feelings about this time of the year. “The Holiday Season”

Before my mom passed it was always great because she made it great. She was so over the top with every holiday. She just made it so fun.

I tried to continue this after she was gone but It seemed I was the only one who wanted to do this. Except for my kids, I think they just love it.

It was really hard for me to do this by myself as a single parent. But I carried over many of her traditions and added some of my own.

After the past two years, there was this weird feeling that I had and my kids also. It all felt so materialistic and unauthentic. 

So, my question that I am still working on is how can I make my holiday and my kid's holiday special again all while having it feel aligned with our beliefs and our families values.

So we kinda don’t celebrate. At least there are no expectations. We always get together and have fun. 

This is one thing that is important to all of us. 

Not the gifts or the traveling all over the place on these set days.

Just all of us being together.

One of the things that always helps me appreciate this time of the year more is having gratitude for everything I have in my life right now. Being grateful for my health, my home, my friends, and most of all my kids and my puppies.

This always reminds me of how lucky I am and how I need nothing. I have everything right in front of me.

One of my favorite ways to practice gratitude is in the morning writing down a few things I’m grateful for and then writing all the reasons why. Nothing is too big or too small.

Then at night, I think about something that happened during the day that I’m grateful for and why.

This way I’m beginning my day in gratitude and ending the day in gratitude.

Here are some of the positive side effects of starting and ending your day with gratitude:

• When you’re writing and thinking of what you're grateful for you can’t be in a state of anxiety and stress at that same moment. So, at least for that moment you are feeling good, starting your day off well, and possibly changing the trajectory of the way your day turns out.
• When you end your day by thinking of all the things you’re grateful for, you're putting yourself in a wonderful state of mind. This can set you up for some great dreams and good sleep.
• Gratitude creates a happy and relaxed state of mind, especially if you practice gratitude daily. You are more likely to focus on all the wonderful things you have instead of what you think you might be lacking. 
• You can also be/live more in the moment. Your focus is on the things that are in the now instead of the anxiety of what's to come or not come in the future.
• Gratitude can be shared. When you’re grateful for a person or a situation you can share your gratitude with that other person. This in turn can make that person not just feel good but also be grateful for the same thing. It’s contagious, in a good way!

This Soul Aligned Self care practice is one of my favorites because it takes just a few minutes a day but has an instant and sometimes really profound effect on your day and life.

Talk about some insta-gratification.

If you are celebrating this time of year be sure to add this practice into your life daily. Also, be sure the way you celebrate is aligned with you and your family to add happiness and fun!

Xo, T

P.S. I'm running a gratitude holiday sale where I have a bunch of workshops, master classes, and even private coaching at a substantial discount. These prices will be good until 11/28/22 at 12 am EST.

Use the link here to learn more about the holiday gratitude sale>

**If you're catching this after this date the prices will be back to normal.