G is for Gratitude

I don’t know about you, but I live on a rollercoaster. I will really want something, and try, try, try to get it. And then when I do get that thing, (Be it a house, husband, kid, new car, wonderful writing career.) I get a momentary piece of happiness before I am onto the next thing, my next want.

I have found that I am not alone. As a Psychiatric Nurse I often meet with people who are despondent, tired of nothing measuring up to what they had hoped. They thought for sure once they got that house, etc… they would be happy. But they’re not. They’re depressed, some to the point of suicide.

I often give them an exercise when they first come in, one that works for me, to remind me to pause the rollercoaster.

It’s simple. A list. A list of things you’re grateful for. For some this list is hard to start. They haven’t been grateful for anything for years. For others the list is hard to stop. It’s contagious, once you start seeing them, you realize there are blessings everywhere.

It works because it gets your mind off of what you want and teaches you to want and appreciate what you already have.