Gratitude is my Friend
The past few weeks have been scary for all of us. I’m the first to admit that I’m a bit of a control freak who likes to plan, organise, and generally have everything in meticulous order. So I get it. It freaks the hell out of me too.
I understand firsthand the anxiety around not knowing what the heck is going on in the world right now. The feeling that all the cards have been dealt and you didn’t even get a say in who the dealer was, or the misfortune that’s about to land in front of you. The anxiety that has you up until the wee hours of the morning when your usual bedtime is 10pm, because you cannot stop pulling down the screen to refresh the news. The obsession that makes you dream vividly all night long about how different scenarios are going to play out. The panic induced when you see empty shelves at the supermarket and lines down the street.
But because I’m a control freak, I figured the best way to get through all of this is to identify something that I do have control over. And fortunately, I’ve discovered something that’s never been so fitting for an occasion as this. Let’s just say, its like hokey-pokey ice cream on a hot summers day. Like smashed avo and a piece of Vogels. Like winter and skis.
Here’s the secret - it’s my gratitude.
It turns out, that practising gratitude allows you appreciate the small things in life. And if there has ever been a time for the small things to shine, it sure as hell is right now!
I’ve rekindled my relationship with my gratitude journal over the past week, and I’ve gotta tell all you naysayers who think journaling is for craft-loving hippies - it’s pays dividends. I was a naysayer once too. Who needs to think about, let alone write down what they’re grateful for? That’s just weird right?
However I can pinkie promise, that spending 5 minutes jotting down 3 bullet points each evening is one of the best effort/reward ratios that I’ve ever engaged in. When you think you’ve had a sh**ty day, you’ll find something. Maybe it was your delicious lunch, or that coffee you had on your way to work. Maybe it was the call with your best friend in the evening, or the walk at the park.
When you get used to thinking of three things, it’ll snowball. Most days, you’ll have a hard time stopping - there will be too many things to write down. And before you know it, your whole mindset will have changed. It’ll creep up on you unawares, like your 30th birthday, and suddenly you’ll find yourself taking a mental note of everything/person/situation that you’re grateful for.
It sounds crazy. I completely understand your reservations. But it works. Trust me, I too was a naysayer.
Here’s a little list of things I’m grateful for right now:
Decisive, informed, and caring leadership
To be living in New Zealand
Knowing I have a family I can count on to support me
Friends and our daily checkins
Two parks near my house within running distance
Chocolate
Modern technology that allows me to Facetime Germany every day
Unexpected time to spend on my own creative projects
Knowing I’ve got 2 jigsaws to get through in 4 weeks
We can’t control how this Covid-19 situation is going to play out, or how long it is going to take to ride the wave. But we can control our mindset, and with it, our appreciation for the good things in life, however small they may be.
Look after yourselves,
Kate x
