It’s time for another entry in my Living Intentionally series of posts. Today, I’m going to keep it simple and talk about gratitude.

When was the last time you stopped to list out the reasons you are grateful? It doesn’t take a long time, or require any training or material. You just stop and ask yourself: “what am I grateful for in my life today?”

Did you do it? Did you have a hard time thinking of things for which you are grateful? You’re not alone. In many cases, people aren’t able to look at the small things in life that are positive. We generally are quick to focus on the negatives, but it often takes a huge positive action or event for us to register our gratitude. But we’re not talking about big, shiny, neon-arrow-pointing-at-it things today; no, we want to look at the everyday things that we often take for granted.

Here are a few things that I am grateful for today:

• I’m grateful for the fact that I was able to get out of bed this morning.
• I am grateful that I had the time to make myself a delicious breakfast.
• I am grateful that I work from home.
• I am grateful that my favourite tea mug was clean and waiting for me this morning.
• I am grateful that I have a roof over my head.
• I am grateful that it’s Friday!
• I am grateful that I had ample podcasts in my queue to entertain me while I was working.
• I am grateful that my carpal tunnel hasn’t bothered me too much the past couple of days.
• I am grateful that I can’t (currently) smell my neighbours’ cigarette smoke.
• I am grateful for the comfortable shoes I wear while I’m working at my standing desk.
• I am grateful that my cat has slept peacefully most of the day.
• I am grateful for all of the things I have to be grateful for.

When it comes to gratitude lists, there are different approaches. Some people like to keep a gratitude journal. Others just do a silent moment of reflection and let things come to their mind for which they can be grateful. One activity to do as a family would be to have everyone write 1-2 gratitudes on pieces of paper, and put them in a jar. Then, at the end of the week/month, gather together as a family and read what you were grateful for.

I’ve always been more of the gratitude journal/list type of person. I’ve undertaken this task numerous times over the past few years as part of my various spiritual and wellness journeys. But I often forget about it until I hit a rough patch and try to find ways to brighten my spirit. I think this will serve as a chance to reignite this habit for me, and to work it into my routine so that I do it more consistently.

So why does gratitude play into intentional living you might ask? It helps cultivate improved mental well-being by allowing you to consciously put focus on good things in your life. It boosts your mood and your spirit. The increased awareness can help with your overall positivity, and this can in turn lead to you being more readily able to notice and recognize the small joys in life. All of these can then lead to you having reduced stress or anxiety levels. What a great bonus! If all it takes to help you shift your perspective is a few minutes (or less!) to look for small things for which you can be thankful, don’t you think it’s worth your time? I know I do.

Here is my challenge to you – I won’t even ask you to do this for the next week, or month. Just for today, take a couple of minutes to sit in stillness and reflect on your day. What do you have to be grateful for? Try to find at least 5 things. You don’t have to write them down. You don’t have to share them with me or anyone else. You might even think this was a silly thing to do and it didn’t do a damned thing for you. Maybe. Or just maybe you cracked open a door and allowed the tiniest glimmer of positivity to creep in.

All I will say is that I now have one last thing to be grateful for today – the fact that you read this blog post. Thank you for being my gratitude.