AOK Today #15 - Attitude of gratitude

AOK Today: Protect just a moment of your day to practice gratitude

"Enough is a feast" - Budhist proverb

How It Works: Evolutionarily, it was very adaptive to notice and remember negative cues and experiences (the look of poison berries, the marking of a different tribe's territory etc) because it kept us alive. We all have this negativity bias - programmed to notice, perceive, and remember what’s wrong, more often, faster and often at the expense of what’s right. This is so deeply ingrained, that our negativity bias happens before we’re even aware of it. The problem is, we no longer live in a world in which we face imminent death. The negativity bias no longer helps us survive - it actually interferes with our wellbeing. We can actively do things to change our habits of thinking - to change what we pay attention to so that we can even out the scales. The most effective way to do this is through gratitude (intentionally attending to and being thankful for what's going right). This applies to our relationships too. Gratitude is important for forming and maintaining the most important relationships of our lives, those with ourselves and the people we interact with every day - find, bind, and remind of the good. Tonight (and right now if you can carve out the time), write down three things you are grateful for - anything from your coffee this morning and patting a dog, to access to food, shelter, and a friend. If you want a bonus self AOK, write down one thing that went well today, noting your contribution to making it go well (e.g., a positive phone call because you took the time and effort to make it).

Cost: Free!

Why I love it: This is without question, a life changing practice for me. What started in a calculated way, is now part of me. It feels automatic, and yet I still notice the little continuous jolts of joy it gives me.

Happy Giving |XOX|