By the time she’s done with the walk, she said, her mind feels “soothed and clear.”
Record it.
More than 100 respondents said that they use journals or apps like Day One, Gratitude Plus and Flavors of Gratefulness to keep track of the good things in their lives.
“The best thing my therapist taught me was to record my ‘win’ every day,” said Elizabeth Chan, 35, who lives in San Antonio. “Doing so helped me develop my optimism muscles, which had atrophied for decades.”
Express your artistic side.
“I paint small watercolors and write a note on the reverse,” said Owen Harvey, 49, from Kingston, N.Y. Then he mails them to a friend or family member.
Mr. Harvey said the habit started during the most isolating moments of the pandemic.
“I felt social media lacked the intimacy of connection that I was missing,” he said. “It all felt too impersonal.”
Make it part of your nighttime routine.
“Every night, after I turn off the light and settle into a comfortable sleeping position, I acknowledge every person that I have encountered during the day, wishing them solace and thanking them for their presence in my day,” said Carol Magowan, 70, of Salisbury, Conn.
The list is so long, she added, she usually falls asleep before finishing.
“The benefit, besides falling into a deep rest, is a profound sense of connectivity to the human condition and my place in this world,” she said.
Give thanks as a group.
Louise Miller, 52, from Boston, said she writes her gratitude list in a journal and then texts the list to a group of friends who also share theirs. “They almost always include something that inspires more gratitude in me — it’s contagious!” she said.
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