A Glimpse into Ruby-Rose's Wild Mind

The Powers of Gratitude

Date: 21/7/24

Location: London - Having a slow, restful and reflection type day.

I think gratitude is a great thing to do daily. It has changed my life in so many ways. It makes me more happy, positive, and calm in everyday life. I do gratitude daily in the morning before I get up for the day or even look at my phone. I find this starts my day off right. If I go straight to my phone I'm more distracted, anxious and overwhelmed throughout the day. Sounds crazy but it's true for me! And I hear it’s true for others too. Gratitude is something that is simple and free, but can make a massive impact on your life. Sometimes we think it takes big changes. But it can sometimes just be the little things. The little habits.

In my head or out loud I say all the things I am grateful for. I am present in the moment when I do this. I truly concentrate and mean what I’m saying. I think of it like saying it from the heart. Not like you are regurgitating phrases you have practised. I am happier, calmer, positive and motivated for the day ahead because of it. I just love starting my day like this!

Due to my healthcare background, I am very research minded. Not only do I feel the benefits myself, there is a lot of research into the benefits of gratitude. It can improve your physical and mental health. Including but not limited to: strengthen your immune system, improve your mood, relationships, sleep, reduce anxiety and depression, boost self confidence, and improve patience and resilience.

As I take time to reflect on the benefits of this habit, I cannot neglect the urge to look more into gratitude. The different ways and how to improve on my habit I have made. Here is the summary of my learnings today. There are many ways to practise gratitude than just thinking or saying out loud what you are grateful for. Here are some easy and common ways to practise gratitude in your daily life:

• Writing what you are grateful for in a gratitude journal.

• Expressing gratitude to others in your daily life. Whether this is a thank you to a friend for helping you or a cute thank you note to someone. Saying thank you to others in your life is a form of gratitude.

• Reflecting and remembering the hard times can help you appreciate the good times and foster gratitude for what you have.

• Using a gratitude jar. Consistently writing one thing that you are grateful for (whether you choose daily or weekly - whatever is an achievable starting goal) is another way to practise gratitude. Adding it to the jar each time.

• Set aside a designated time each day to express what you are grateful for. This is what I do in my mornings before getting up for the day.

• Volunteer for a good cause.

• Being present and mindful during your day. Focusing on your senses. What you can feel, see, hear, taste and be appreciative for it. Such as a beautiful garden as you walk home, a sweet strawberry for a snack or beautiful people laughing with joy as you pass by them. Being in the present and noticing the little things is a form of gratitude.

So how are you going to practise gratitude today?

Upon reflection, I practise gratitude in various ways throughout my day already. Some days are more than others. I voice gratitude to others in my life often, and have a set time in my day that I reflect on what I am grateful for. I often reminisce on the past and think how grateful I am to be where I am today. The type I do less consistently is being present and mindful. I want to do this more, but it can be hard with the busyness of life. This is something I enjoy doing and really feel the benefits from. So this is the aspect of gratitude I am going to work on. My new gratitude goal. Aiming daily to be in the present moment, be mindful and consciously tap into my core senses and focus on what I'm grateful for.

Another thing I love doing is just being excited and grateful about little things in life. Excited to have a relaxing evening, a nice cup of tea with chocolate and a movie. Excited to see my friend and plan our next travel trip. Happy to jam to my favourite music on my commute to work. Excited to do a long walk home and admire the world around me. Excited to call my family back home and catch up. Getting excited about life, even just the little things, to me is a kind of gratitude. This elevates the present with more happiness, peace and excitement in life. It also makes me more present in the moment too, which I love.

Soooo I am guilty of diving into something and wanting to find out all the info on how to do it well, right, obtaining the best results from it. But with that sometimes comes too much information, it feels overwhelming, so I don’t even do it or start. There are many ways to do gratitude, but I encourage you to keep it simple. All gratitude is, at essence, is the act of feeling grateful for what you have. And as explained above this can be done in many different ways! Don’t over complicate it, just start. Then you can play around with different ways and see what has a better effect for you as you go. I think the best type to start with is the way you can easily slot into your everyday life, and be consistent with. So try some of these ways and see what works best for you.

It’s so easy to get caught up in the destination in life. But we need to remember to enjoy the journey too. I’m on a long journey just like you. I’m working hard on my goals to be working fully remote with my own online income streams. I’m not sure how long this will take. I’m focused and determined to reach my goals but also remembering to enjoy my current life because that’s pretty awesome too. So I think it’s a balance of being present and enjoying where you are, as well as putting time into your goals or priorities to create your desired future. That’s the balance I’ve been trying to work on lately anyway. I often get caught up in the future and where I want to go, or analysing the past, I don't always appreciate the present as much as I would like. Recently I’ve been liking my balance, and life has felt happier and lighter because of it I think.

So let's do this together. Let's consciously make an effort to be present in life. Lets practise gratitude daily and get excited about the little things in life. Lets enjoy this part of our life’s journey. Let’s be as excited about the present as we are about the future.

Thank you for being here.

Until next time,

Ruby-Rose x