Your weekly dose of mental sunshine...

What are you grateful for this week?

That might sound like an odd question, but there are numerous benefits of practising gratitude.

When we take the time to reflect and to pay attention to the good things in our lives, we can train our brains to look for the positive more often

Thus bringing our own mental sunshine into our lives...

There are loads of gratitude diaries and even apps for your phone which can help you to track daily gratitude

But the beauty of this is that you don’t actually need anything.

No books, no diaries, no gadgets.

All you need is to spend a few minutes each day thinking about the things you’re grateful for.

A top tip here is to focus on the details, not the big things.

It’s easy to just say “oh yes, today I am grateful to be alive” - and that’s great; we should all be grateful to be alive!

The beauty of this shines in the nitty-gritty.

That mug of coffee you had with a brief moment of silence before beginning your day…

A hug from your child when they came out of school…

A stranger holding the door open for you.

These are all things we can easily overlook when thinking about how our day went - but when we take a moment to feel grateful for them, it can change how we view the day.

Why not give it a go?

At bedtime this evening, challenge yourself to think of 3 things you’re grateful for.

And tomorrow, make it 3 different things. See how it makes you feel to notice and honour those tiny moments of positivity during your day.