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“My thoughts of joy and peace are fleeting. Usually I am thinking and thinking. Unable to stop and smell the flowers. Although I do work on feeling grateful. Do you think it will start to come naturally?” ~ Linda

Linda, any time we start a new practice, it takes a bit of time before it becomes a natural process. Our brain is literally wired the way it is because of the thoughts and  habits that we have formed in our past.

The good news is, we can rewire it at any time simply by consciously changing the way we think. It’s the same as joining a gym and wondering if you’re going to get in shape in a week. Gratitude, just like lifting weights, becomes easier the more we do it.  It’s all about creating a habit to form new neural pathways in our brain.

I truly believe that the number one thing we can all do to improve our own individual lives is to take the time to express gratitude.

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In other words, make it a practice each and every day.  As soon as you wake in the morning, review in your mind the things that you are grateful for in your life. As you close your eyes to sleep, think of the best part of your day, and again, of the things that you are the most grateful for in your life. As we think of the most wonderful parts of our life, we can’t help but smile and feel good inside. From that good feeling, our thoughts and our behavior will change.

If thoughts of lack or yucky stuff comes up, don’t beat yourself up. Just let it go and return to the thoughts of gratitude. Eventually they’ll become second nature to you. And the coolest side effect is that your life will improve dramatically in all areas.

As you do this daily practice more and more, you’ll find that gratitude, peace of mind and stress relief will soon become a part of your everyday life.

So, tonight as you fall asleep, try this practice and let me know how it works for you. Thanks again for reaching out to us and for being a part of the InspireMeToday.com community.

Hugs,

Gail

p.s. Want to add your answer? Please feel free to add your wisdom below in the comment section. Thank you!

Photo Credit: Happy_Serenditpity

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Gail Lynne Goodwin is the founder of InspireMeToday.com, bringing the best inspiration to the world. InspireMeToday.com provides free inspiration, each day from a new Inspirational Luminary, to a global community of folks from over 150 countries. Gail has interviewed many well-known names including Sir Richard Branson, Guy Laliberte, Seth Godin, Tony Hseih, Gary Vaynerchuk, Michael Gerber, Marci Shimoff, Jack Canfield and hundreds more. According to Mashable, Gail was one of 2009's Top 25 Most Inspirational People on Twitter.

Prior to InspireMeToday.com, Gail spent several years as manager for her recording artist daughter, Carly. As a result of the success of their co-penned song, "Baby Come Back Home", Gail accompanied her daughter to bases in the US and to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba where Carly performed for our troops. Gail and Carly created the 'World's Longest Letter' of love and support and delivered the 18-mile long scroll on a month-long tour of Iraq and the Persian Gulf in 2006.

Gail is excited to present her latest course, Love in 21 Days, a step-by-step guide to finding love online. Love in 21 Days is founded on a logical process that has been tested - and proven! - by not only Gail, but also by students around the world who too have found love.

Gail is a published author and a regular writer for the Huffington Post. She offers mentoring and mastermind services to clients worldwide from her home in Whitefish, Montana. Follow Gail on Twitter or Google+.

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. I have started to practice writing things that I’m grateful for for 3 days and everyday the list is increasing. I really want to see and prove that my life can improve by being grateful. I don’t know how long it will take but I start to feel good these few days…

  2. I started a gratitude journal a few months ago and it has made a huge differences in the way I think and how I go about my day. It really works!
    Best,
    Matthew

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