DISCOVERING THE POWER OF LOGGING DAILY GRATITUDE

For over five years I have been keeping note of moments of gratitude throughout my day which, I’ll admit, when I first started doing it I found really difficult. I wrote down the same things each day; you know they ones… a roof over my head, great relationships/friendships and food in the fridge. It was only as I carried on with this practice that I discovered a little hidden key in my brain that allowed me access to so many more things.

The key was/ is that these things take practice.

The more we do it, the more we understand that our days are filled to the brim with happy moments and things we should be grateful for. My lists now consist of things like: a delicious iced coffee with my favourite vanilla syrup, a walk to the gym listening to an inspirational audio-book or podcast, the smell of clean bedding, hearing the lambs bleating in the field next to the house, birds visiting the feeders in the garden, watching the clouds pass overhead whilst laying on the bed, star gazing in the middle of the night (whilst waiting for the cat to make her bloody mind up whether she wants in or out!), a pizza on Friday evening, the feeling of freshly washed hair, chocolate and tea, buying myself a small bunch of flowers… I could go on and on here, but you get it. For me, these things don’t only remind me of all the reasons I have to be happy, but they also create a feeling of fullness within my soul. It’s important to remember that, whilst all the bigger moments are really impactful, it is the small, everyday moments that are the most fulfilling deep within us.

There is a lot of talk, especially in the online space, about romanticising our lives; allowing ourselves to dream and explore ourselves, like we are the main character in our own lives (because we are!). This is quite the trend on Tik Tok, with people sharing mini-vlogs about their day and how they choose to romanticise them and, as a hopeless romantic to my core, I admit that I love this so much! I recently read a post on ‘Camille Styles’ blog, which talked about each day giving us countless opportunities to romanticize our lives, and by befriending ourselves and falling in love with the person we’ve uncovered, how we can actively create space to make life a little more awe-inspiring, a bit more beautiful, and filled with so much more love for ourselves. I think that is a beautiful way of seeing it.

For me, the whole ‘romanticising’ of your life ‘thing’ is important, but I will say that we have to avoid getting too attached to what we see online and do what suits us; I would say that my list includes things like having baths by candle light, putting down my phone and reading a favourite book, buying flowers and putting them around the house, having a pamper afternoon, full of treats and things that will make me feel amazing in my body and mind, booking in a little massage or hair cut, taking myself out on a ‘date’ and exploring somewhere new. These things don’t need to add up to big financial expenditures; simple things that are special to you are what matter here. It’s just about doing it more often and allowing it to be the norm for you. I think, ultimately, it can come down to time. We all feel like we don’t have enough time to do these things, but even if (like me) you go to the local coffee shop every Friday morning, treat yourself to a coffee and buy a little bunch of flowers for yourself on the way back, that will feel so special and it really is something to look forward to every week.

SMALL WINS CREATE BIG LEAPS
Along with ‘moments of gratitude’ and the idea of romanticising life, I love documenting every day ‘small wins’. If you are on my newsletter list, which you will be added to if you download the free printable that comes with this post (little wave to the Leaf Lane Studio newsletter family!), you will receive my weekly emails called ‘Notes from my desk’ each Sunday, where I recently discussed this topic.

The power of writing your small wins is epic, it really is. Your small wins should be different from your gratitude list, they are things that you have done in your day, things you have accomplished and (somewhat importantly perhaps) things that move you towards your bigger goals.

For me, my daily wins could be anything from ‘walked to training and back, despite not feeling like it' to ‘had an email from a prospective stockist’. On days where I am not feeling myself, my wins may simply be ‘read a few pages of my self development book’ or ‘had a nap’. They may sound like things that you wouldn't list as a win, but it is just what feels like one that specific day. Remember, they are for your eyes only and there is no judgement whatsoever. I promise you that, as insignificant as they feel at the time, when you reflect back on them after a month, your ‘wins’ will feel great!

To prove how mundane mine are, here are mine from the last few days:

• Sent sketches to client for wedding project

• Ordered my new glasses and contact lenses (something that has taken a lot of time for me to prioritise, so it is a big win!)

• Sent off more washi tape and bee to-do lists to the Eden Project

• Walking to the gym and back, even though I felt tired. I felt so much better afterwards and listened to an amazing business podcast on the way.

• Moved the office around to create more space

• Painted my shelves for the market stall

• Closed off a client project and received payment

• Updated inventory (a job I hate!)

• Updated my ‘Finance Friday’ spreadsheet (a goal for this quarter is to be better with my money and to log all my ‘numbers’, including socials and sales)

These things are so powerful to me, especially on weeks (like the last week or so) where I have found myself in a bit of a rut, and my mood is lower than normal. These things remind me that I am on track towards my bigger goals and moving forward in general (no matter how slowly!).

A GIFT FROM ME TO YOU

As I have already mentioned, I have created a free resource to accompany this post, which comes with some colourful pages you can print out and log your daily wins / gratitude on (or use your notebook). Inside the download you will also find a weekly review section, which takes you through some of my favourite questions that I ask myself at the end of the week. I love doing this on a Sunday evening. I usually lay on the bed with a notebook (I’m currently using this one) and I take a few minutes to think about what the previous week was like and how I am moving into a new one. I have a similar routine every night when it comes to logging daily wins; it just takes a few minutes but when I am planning a new week or a new month, it makes it so much easier to see what went right by having these lists to hand, rather than trying to remember off the top of my head (I’m not great at that!).

So, there you have it! I hope you enjoyed this blog post and can take something away from it. Feel free to share it online with friends you think may benefit from introducing the 2-3 minute daily routine into their lives, I would love to know how you get on and how doing these things makes you feel. Be sure to grab your free download (and check your junk box after a couple of hours if you aren’t seeing it arrive).

Pop a comment below if you downloaded it and tell me what you think!