My #1 practice on the road to happiness is gratitude.

When people who know about my many challenges ask: How come you’re so happy? I say: There are so many things to be happy about!

Thanksgiving is my favourite celebration for this reason but the thing is, that gratitude is a daily practice; a habit; an attitude of seeing the world with grateful eyes.

The most interesting outcome of this is that the more you focus on what you have – rather than on what you don’t have – the more things you attract to be grateful for. It is one of the fascinating ways in which the Universe works.

The secret lies in the vibration, the energy that you put out. Energy attracts like energy. Have you ever noticed that when things seem to be going badly and you focus your attention there that more and more ‘bad’ things seem to happen? The reverse is also true.

How does this work in practice? Let me give you some examples.

As soon as I open my eyes in the morning it starts. My first thought is – I’m breathing. My breath is my connection to life. So, if I’m breathing I’m alive. Fantastic! Then I notice that my heart is beating. This is perhaps more important to me than to most others because of my recent brush with heart failure but these are things we usually take for granted, right?

Then there are my five senses. I am so grateful that I can still see and hear and smell and taste and touch. These allow me to experience the wonders of the world.

My mind goes to all my family and friends who make up my support system. I don’t know what I would do without them. I have this trick where I run through all the countries where I have friends and family and thank each one that comes to mind.

But it’s not just the big things but also all the little things that I notice and that I’m grateful for. As Louise Hay puts it: the thousand daily miracles.

• So, I say thanks for the electricity that enables me to have so many of the things that make my life comfortable.
• The Internet, my phone, my computer, my iPad, all the things that allow me to be connected with my friends all over the world. Especially at this this time.
• The food in the fridge.
• The stove, the microwave, my Instant Pot and all the other appliances that make life easier.
• Indoor plumbing that allows me to just press a handle to get rid of waste or to take a shower.
• My recliner that is so comfortable and that has served me so well for more than 15 years. It is where I have slept for the last year and a half.
• The green mountains; the trees and flowers.
• Hummingbirds
• The warm climate – and air-conditioning!
• Listen, I could go on and on. I can think of at least fifty things to be grateful for before I even have breakfast!

The point is that when you live with this attitude the whole world seems to be a happier place. Does this mean that you don’t recognise the parts of life that are not going so well? Of course not. You need to deal with those. It’s really a matter of where you put the emphasis – your perspective – the whole half full/ half empty story.

I encourage you to try this and see what effect it has. Start with just one thing every day. Then increase that as you go. Perhaps you will notice that the more things you see to be grateful for, the more things you notice.

If you struggle to do this, reach out to me. I’m very willing to support you. Just contact me at cheryl@thinkittalkiit.com The first session is always complimentary. Sessions are virtual so it doesn’t matter where you live.