The Daily Practice That Will Change Your Life: 5 Questions
I started a daily gratitude practice in earnest once I dedicated more of my life to the examination of living mindfully. Everywhere I looked, there was a new study telling me that the happiest, most successful people meditate and practice gratitude regularly.
It’s a funny phrase, to ‘practice’ gratitude. Just like it’s funny to think about ‘practicing’ meditation or mindfulness, in the same way we'd practice a sport. But in the phrase is a lesson, in two parts: 1. We need to do it on a regular basis to get better and 2. We’re never going to be perfect (so we get to keep doing it).
A lovely lesson to learn over and over, if you ask me.
So I started writing down three things I was grateful for, nearly every day. This single, small practice changed my life.
That’s a powerful statement. And I know it doesn’t seem like could be much to writing some stuff down every day, but believe me, it works. Research shows it more and more all the time.
My Daily Gratitude Practice
I’ve refined my practice since the first days. I do what fits me and I want to share that with you. It might work for you. You might want to add something. You might want to remove something. Either is OK.
Every day, I answer five prompts, usually in the following order:
1. Why am I here?
My Why is the most important part of my work and life. It’s what gets me out of bed every day, keeps me motivated through the tough times and helps me stay focused on how and what I can do to make an impact.
My life Why: I am here to love. My work why: I help people unleash their awesome on the world.
Every day I write that as a reminder of what it’s all about and use it as a frame for every decision I make thereafter. My off days come when I drift from this focus, every time.
What’s your Why?
2. I am grateful for:
I write at least three things every day that I’m grateful for. They can be the same things over and over (my strong, resilient, health body or the sun shining over us). They can be different things.
You might not be able to come up with very many things to be grateful for at first. That’s OK. Keep going and over time more will come.
Start with 3 things you're grateful for in this moment.
Maybe even try this fun exercise: Come up with 10 things you don’t like and why you’re grateful for them. (Hint: At the very least, they teach us how to live in the midst of things that make us uncomfortable. Now keep going!)
3. What would I like?
There is that old saying that we can’t get to where we want to go if we don’t know where it is, or something like that. I think it’s true.
If I want to wander aimlessly, not stopping to figure out what I want is a guaranteed way to get there. Since I know my Why, finding what I want is easy. I want to share more love. I want to help more people make an impact. And little things add up to get there.
I want my family to live in a safe house. I want to make enough money to provide for them. I want to go on a restful vacation once a year. I want to spend more time with the people I love. It all goes back to Why.
What do you want?
4. How can I be of most service to my people today?
This question is a new addition to the list, giving more specificity than the previous version. What makes this question so powerful? A few things.
It asks us to be of service. Focusing on being of service to others is really the key to success, happiness and all kinds of things we strive for. If you don't believe me, look at quotes from most any successful salesperson or businessperson throughout history. It's always about others.
It forces us to think about who we're serving. Who are my people today? Is it my employees? My customers? My family? The answer might change a little on a daily basis, which only helps the answer to become more clearly defined and result in a more powerful focus.
It's time-sensitive. Shooting for a single win every day is a surefire way to success. Staring at a long, static to-do list, feeling overwhelmed is a way to not win the day.
And once we get some success answering this call every day, we can start applying it more often -- moment to moment even. How can I be of most service to the person with me at this moment? That's magic.
Be of service to your people. Identify how, commit and do it.
5. Daily Affirmation
Affirmations are ways of saying 'I love you’ to ourselves, of creating the lives we want and watching them form. Some examples:
- Today is a great day.
- I accomplish everything I set out to do. Nothing stands in my way.
- I am rich beyond my wildest dreams.
- I am enough. (My personal favorite.)
What are we doing with these? We’re training our brains to believe in the positive. So much of our world is filled with events and stimuli made to bring us down (just check out any news channel). These daily affirmations are our opportunity to shape the world we see into something better, one word at a time.
Write your affirmation daily. Then read it aloud and repeat it anytime you feel lost. It works. I promise.
These are just five things to do daily, most days or even just days you’re struggling, to help you live your most awesome life. You might not notice it at first, but over time everything around you will improve. It’s like magic, except you’re the one making it.