How To Increase Gratitude During Quarantine – Laurie Shoats LMFT -Ways To Be More Positive And Grateful During The Pandemic
How To Increase Gratitude During Quarantine
Ways To Be More Positive And Grateful During The Pandemic
Wait, what!?! Be grateful and positive during a pandemic? How is that even possible?
Unfortunately, most of us have known someone who has suffered complications or even passed away from Covid-19, so how could we be positive at this time?
Imagine you ordered in Chinese food and opened the fortune cookie and it read, “Don’t pursue happiness…create it.” Then what?
Stay with me…
We all know we cannot go back and change the past, nor can we change many of the things we wish we could change.
**(Great opportunity to insert Serenity Prayer) So let’s do that! **
Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity to ACCEPT the things I cannot change; the COURAGE to change the things that
I can; and WISDOM to know the difference.
So, what does the Serenity Prayer have to do with being grateful?
When we accept reality as it is then we are able to clear our heads.
When our head is clear then we can make space in our minds/thoughts to insert the thoughts we WANT to have.
Inserting gratitude/grateful thoughts, can make a world of difference when it comes to coping with the pandemic as well as anything else.
Not sure where to start?
*How about being grateful for whatever device you are using to read this article?
**How about being grateful for waking up today?
***How about being grateful for turning on your light switch and having power?
I know these may not mean a lot to you however these are some of the things so many people take for granted.
Just to highlight how important these things are, imagine how your day would have been if your device or your lights were all broken.
This is just a simple shift in your mindset to be able to be aware of all the blessing you have that perhaps you had been minimizing.
Try this technique….
Before you go to bed at night, take a few minutes to list 10 or so things you are grateful for. This is a nice way to end your day and it creates a healthy habit of being able to increase your optimism.
Being optimistic and grateful are good for your health and help to increase your immune system.
Keeping a grateful journal, which can be easily purchased or made, is a wonderful way to keep track of all of the little things you are blessed with.
I recall having a client mention how one of the things he was most grateful for was how soft his pillow was. Seems silly, right? But until he had made a conscious effort to be more grateful, he had never noticed it.
I had another client create a grateful jar in the kitchen. She and her family would all put little notes with things they were grateful for in the jar and on Fridays they would discuss them during dinner. She reported it was a game changer for her family dinner time attitude and everyone (eventually) loved it.
Could you use a little support during these trying times to be more grateful or less anxious?
Call me, let’s chat.
Laurie Shoats L.M.F.T. (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist)
954.802.1601
Real Life Solutions Counseling, Inc
Serving Coral Springs, Parkland, Coconut Creek, Boca Raton, Margate and surrounding areas
