Four ways to make your gratitude practice stick
Last month I received a piece of insightful feedback on one of our foundational habit building courses. She said, “The simplest tasks can be the most difficult.” Referring to the simple practice of making a gratitude list, she is not alone. It is difficult for many people because life gets in the way. Whether it’s a project deadline at work, needing to clean things up before going on vacation, sick kids, whatever—life is going to happen and if you don’t have a system that ensures you maintain your Habitual Ritual (i.e. making your gratitude list), your simple gratitude practice will fall to the wayside.
The science behind behaviour change and building consistent habits that serve you is crystal clear—your success in building and maintaining a new habit is less dependent on sheer determination or will and more determined by the system you use for support.
I believe the most important part of a support system is having what we’ll call “a nudge”. A nudge is nothing more than a reliable reminder to use on a daily basis no matter what is happening in life. The nudge reminds you that the behaviour you want to become habitual is important and the nudge invites you back to the desired behaviour—be that going to the gym, not smoking, or practicing gratitude. One important caveat—the nudge must be non-judgemental—guilt and coercion are not effective long-term motivators.
So for you and your simple yet difficult gratitude practice—here are a few ideas to help strengthen your Habitual Ritual:
set a notification on your smart phone—at a time of day that works for you
partner with a gratitude buddy and commit to a daily communication exchange
join The Daily Gratitudes and get a weekday email nudge that includes 3 gratitudes from me and 3 gratitudes from a guest that changes every week (join here - https://www.gratitudeatwork.ca/the-daily-gratitudes/habitual-ritual)
start using a gratitude app - there are scads of them
What one step will you take today to make your gratitude practice easier ?
