Real Self-Care: Gratitude

This post is part of a month-long series on Real Self-Care for world-changers. It’s about the experimentation: figuring out what works for you and following your heart. Simple, messy and everything in between. Self-care should be custom, intuitive, feasible and kind – to serve your actual life.

Gratitude

I write about gratitude a lot. It’s changed my life, no exaggeration.

Gratitude is a popular concept in the personal development world, but here’s why I think it’s an essential part of self-care: it can shift our perspective and nurture us when we need it. It doesn’t allow us to wallow or to stay stuck in an us-verus-them dynamic. It reminds us of what is truly important–that much of what we need, we already have. It allows us to stay present, rather than numbing out.

It’s one of my very favorite self-care practices, to keep myself grounded, present, joyful.

I wrote a blog about it: Gratitude is a Force

I know that some people think that gratitude is a bit of a cop-out, but it can be a powerful tool to cultivate deep self-care.

Taking a few moments to feel grateful – to celebrate what’s going well – keeps us from running from one crisis to another. It allows us to pause and savor what we are able to accomplish.

Gratitude also helps to solidify communities: when we honor one another, in gratitude, we are recognizing each other’s humanity. Gratitude is at its best when we say it out loud, expressing it rather than keeping it to yourself.