For my second well-being strategy I focused on gratitude. I wasn't surprised that this was one of my best-fitting strategies because I firmly believe in the power of gratitude. In order to make sure I was expressing gratitude every day I decided to make my evening prayers focused on only expressing thanks. This also takes a little from the spirituality activity since I would be focusing my gratefulness on God, even though it wasn't one of my best-fitting strategies (which did surprise me).
I had thought of gratitude as simply saying thank you for something, however, my view changed after reading Lyubomirsky's perspective. She quotes Robert Emmons, a renowned writer and researcher on gratitude, who defined it as, "a felt sense of wonder, thankfulness, and appreciation for life" (Lyubomirsky, 2007, p. 89). I thought about how I could adapt this definition into a conscious activity I could do every day. I focused on 3 ways to do that: through my prayers I focused on appreciating God and the beautiful life He gives me everyday, I expressed gratitude and appreciation for my roommates by complimenting them every day through a compliment jar, and I spent some time feeling wonder for this beautiful world.
Prayers
I have always had a daily habit of prayer and have even had periods of time when I would only express gratitude in …show more content…
When I proposed the idea they were all for it and now a little jar sits on the table right by our front door. I have some of the world's greatest roommates, but that doesn't mean they don't get on my nerves every once in awhile. I found that it was in those moments that I got annoyed that I gained the most from thinking of a way to compliment them. Once I started looking for the good and wrote it down, my frustration evaporated and I was happier. I tell my roommates all the time that I love them, but it's nice to feel it more often
I had thought of gratitude as simply saying thank you for something, however, my view changed after reading Lyubomirsky's perspective. She quotes Robert Emmons, a renowned writer and researcher on gratitude, who defined it as, "a felt sense of wonder, thankfulness, and appreciation for life" (Lyubomirsky, 2007, p. 89). I thought about how I could adapt this definition into a conscious activity I could do every day. I focused on 3 ways to do that: through my prayers I focused on appreciating God and the beautiful life He gives me everyday, I expressed gratitude and appreciation for my roommates by complimenting them every day through a compliment jar, and I spent some time feeling wonder for this beautiful world.
Prayers
I have always had a daily habit of prayer and have even had periods of time when I would only express gratitude in …show more content…
When I proposed the idea they were all for it and now a little jar sits on the table right by our front door. I have some of the world's greatest roommates, but that doesn't mean they don't get on my nerves every once in awhile. I found that it was in those moments that I got annoyed that I gained the most from thinking of a way to compliment them. Once I started looking for the good and wrote it down, my frustration evaporated and I was happier. I tell my roommates all the time that I love them, but it's nice to feel it more often