Ending the year with Gratitude

The way we end or start something has a great influence on its nature and our perception of it.

For example, if at the end of a great vacation we have some very disgusting experience, this might make us perceive the whole vacation as “flawed”.

Similarly, how we start something sets the “tone” for the rest of it. For example, if we start the day energetically and in a good mood, this will probably carry over to the rest of the day. And so on.

The end of the year, and the beginning of a new one, elicit many emotions. We tend to make a “balance sheet” of the pros and cons of the year and reach a general feeling about it. How we end it wil weight heavily in this accounting.

We can take control, to some extent, of this process and its outcome, by doing things that promote positive emotions, and so help us end the year on a better note.

We can’t control all our feelings, but some practices have proven effective for promoting positive ones.

In particular, intentionally adopting an attitude of gratitude, and focusing on things large and small we might be grateful for, has been scientifically proven to better our mood, by many serious research projects in this field.

So I propose that at this end of the year and the beginning of the next one, we make an extra effort to practice gratitude and cultivate this very useful and positive feeling.

There are many ways to do this. Like with many similar practices, it might feel phony at first, but it will get more and more genuine as you advance in the practice.

It’s like creating a tiny candle flame that gets increasingly bigger with the practice, and can even become a large bonfire.

You probably know these Gratitude practices, it’s about actually doing them

As a refresher, here are some ways to practice Gratitude:

• In a calm and meditative state, think of things you might be grateful for. Those could be small things that make you feel good, positive past experiences, or big good things you have received in your life. Write them down. Make the list longer as you remember more things. Read your list often, giving thanks for each item in the list.
  
  
• Remember people that have helped you, or have been good to you at some point in your life. Write them down and thank each of them. You can also thank them personally if you feel so inclined, which is a powerful gratitude experience.
  
  
• Write thank you letters or brief notes to people that helped you in your life, even if they are no longer present. You might consider actually giving some notes. The “holiday season” feeling prevalent these days will facilitate giving those notes, which might feel out of place at other times of the year.
  
  
• Establish a gratitude journal. Every evening, write some good things that happened during the day, and give thanks for them. This might be like detective work in some cases. If necessary, take your time to think. Most probably, there are some good things that happened that day, even very small. As with any practice, it gets easier with time if you keep it doing it daily.
  
  
• Make a point of saying “Thank you” in every significant interaction during the day. Take a moment to feel genuine gratitude towards the other person

Summing up, the proposal is to give a positive slant to the end of this year and the beginning of the next one, by doing the practice that has been proven most effective in promoting positive feelings: practicing Gratitude.

What do you think of this idea?

Would you sprinkle some Gratitude to your end of the year?

I look forward to your comments,

Marcelo.

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