Happy Week of Thanksgiving! I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving week is off to a good start.
Over at CatholicMom.com, I wrote a post called Three Ways to Grow in Gratitude based on the suggestions Dr. Christopher Kaczor gives in his book, The Gospel of Happiness: Rediscover Your Faith Through Spiritual Practice and Positive Psychology .
One of his suggestions is called The Three Things Gratitude Exercise.
It’s an simple and very effective way to grow in gratitude and ward off negative thoughts that only bring us down. I thought Thanksgiving week would be the perfect time to start this for myself and for others also. I’ll share my Three Things I’m Grateful For here on the blog and the Simplemama Facebook page and link it to Twitter also using #Grateful or #ThreeThingsImGrateful4 all week. If you’d like to join me, I’d love to have the company (and accountability)! Here’s how to join in:
The Three Things Gratitude Exercise
1. At the end of the day, before you fall asleep (so don’t let that head hit the pillow yet), think of The Three Things – three small and simple things – you are thankful for. Moments you might have otherwise forgotten if you hadn’t been looking for it. (a smile from you toddler, a hug from you spouse, the smell of warm your favorite tea or coffee, etc.)
2. Get out a notebook, journal, a note in your phone, or simply come to this blog or the Simplemama Facebook page or Twitter or also using #Grateful or #ThreeThingsImGrateful4 @_ErikaMarie_.
3. Write down The Three Things you are grateful for from the day.
Simple.
Feel free to share your Three Things here, on the Facebook page, or just keep them to yourself and let them soak in. I promise you’ll fall asleep much more peacefully if you do this first before you fall asleep.
Here are my Three Things I’m Grateful For Today
1. A wonderful time together and sharing a delicious pre-Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving meal with my mom, dad, and sister since we will not see them on the actual day.
2. Watching my husband roll our kids up in a big long pillow like hot dogs and then roll them out onto the bed while they giggled with glee. Those are the best laughs.
3. Praying as a family before bed. God is good.
It’s hard to stop at three! How about you, what Three Things are you grateful for today?
