Practical Ways To Start A Habit Of Gratitude

Nov 27, 2021

The theme this week on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is: Can Gratitude Help You Make Better Money Decisions? 

If you’ve bought into the idea that I’ve discussed this week - that gratitude will help you be happier, more patient, and spend your money in a way that aligns with your values, then the next natural question to ask if your gratefulness isn’t yet producing this fruit in your life is “how do I get started? What practical steps can I take today to be more grateful?” 

The easiest way to start is to make a concerted effort to notice the good in each day. A daily reflection time at the beginning or the end of the day is perfect for this. It doesn’t need to be time consuming. It can just be a minute or two. Reflecting daily on all the amazing things in your life (big and small) will help you appreciate the goodness of each day and will also train you to pay more attention to the good, rather than falling into the miserable trap of complaining and always wishing circumstances were different. 

Although I miss days here and there, most days I take a few moments in prayer to thank God for my many blessings. If you aren’t religious, that’s okay...you can still practice gratitude in daily reflection. 

Here are a few other suggestions: 

• Find ways to say thank you more, do acts of kindness for others and be more present with your loved ones. 
• Write thank you cards or send a text to someone just telling them how much you appreciate them. Whenever I write a thank you card, my heart swells. It brings me so much joy and I imagine you might have felt this as well. There’s something about writing a heartfelt note of appreciation to someone you care about that has the power to brighten your day
• Go on a no complaint diet. I did this about 4 years ago and it really helped me cut down on my complaining which in turn helped me to appreciate the good things rather than dwelling on what I didn’t like.

In his book Atomic Habits, author James Clear talks about the power of attaching a new habit to something you’re already doing as a way to make that habit stick. For example, if you have a daily quiet time with your cup of coffee, switching from reading the news or scrolling on your phone to a gratitude reflection time or journaling is an easier way to add that new habit into your life, because you’re attaching it to something you already enjoy doing and creating powerful associations in your mind. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast. 

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance