fbpx
what am i grateful for

Start the day with what you are grateful for

Studies have shown that people who write down and think of things they are grateful for have a more positive outlook on life. I knew someone in my Families Anonymous group that did this every day and she swore by it.

Some say do five things per day, some say three and I say at least do one per day. Even others do one list of five on Monday. How is up to you but writing down one thing per day, sets the tone for your day. If you are in grief now, it might be all you can do to come up with a list of one. I want you to give it a try even if you are early in the process.

Here some examples of mine:

I’m thankful that Richard is so independent and doing well

I’m thankful I’ve had the good fortune of having my parents in my life for so long

I’m thankful Charles was not tortured then murdered. (I know. Kind of dark. But it’s one from my list.)

I’m thankful we went to Families Anonymous which surprisingly helped us later in our grief process

I’m grateful for my blog and all the people who offer support and share their own personal stories that help themselves and others

You get the gist. So one per day. No matter how bad your life is, you can find ONE thing to be thankful for. A simple solution to finding some joy and happiness.

Published by

AnneMoss Rogers

AnneMoss Rogers is a mental health and suicide education expert, mental health speaker, suicide prevention trainer and consultant. She is author of the Book, Diary of a Broken Mind and co-author of Emotionally Naked: A Teacher's Guide to Preventing Suicide and Recognizing Students at Risk with Kim O'Brien PhD, LICSW. She raised two boys, Richard and Charles, and lost her younger son, Charles to addiction and suicide on June 5, 2015. She is a motivational speaker who empowers by educating and provides life saving strategies and emotionally healthy coping skills. As talented and funny as Charles was, letting other people know they matter was his greatest gift. And now that's the legacy she carries forward in her son's memory. Mental Health Speakers Website.

16 thoughts on “Start the day with what you are grateful for”

  1. I love this idea Anne. I can really relate this year. It’s been five years since my son’s suicide. My son’s (Anthony) birthday and death day are all during the holidays. I feel like I sleep walk through the November and December every year. Today I am thankful for this brisk sunny morning. I’m drinking coffee and can hear the birds outside. It’s beautiful and peaceful and will hopefully pull me out of the house today. I hate feeling stuck:/

    1. So simple. We learn to do that when we go through a loss trauma like we have Kristin. Thank you for sharing. And to Anthony’s memory happy birthday. That’s a lot packed into the “holidays.”

  2. I am thankful I get to work with youth and families through the school system and address mental health stigmas, crisis and wellness through the Youth Mental Health First Aid Program in which we are in the process of training ALL our school staff. Not just admin and teachers, but aides, transportation, nutrition and custodial staff. What a difference this will make in the lives of our children and community!

  3. I’m thankful that I was asked to express my struggle with sucidial thoughts when I was junior high. Anne Moss noticed that I was one of most engaged readers on her blog when I first found it.

    1. That’s a good one Michael. And thank you. It’s good to see you have come back from your struggle. You have a job at a good place where they appreciate you. Given all of what you deal with, you’re a role model for the comeback kid. It’s nice to see you thrive and help others.

      1. Naw. Just lucky. Nothing glamorous here. Just staying sane. I have noticed during year 3 with grief waves being much farther apart with longer lulls where I almost feel normal the sudden thought that my son died from suicide causes not a grief wave sometimes but an insanity wave. Hard to describe but it’s distinct from sadness, pain, guilt,etc. But it’s because of the stark contrast of almost feeling normal with a distracted mind then I’ll think oh yeah that. We’re visiting and staying over night with a couple who were close highschool (and beyond) friends of Daniel. Facing the fire, thickening the psyche.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Share via
Copy link
Powered by Social Snap