Before your feet hit the floor in the morning, count 5 things you’re grateful for. Don’t over-complicate it. You don’t have to wake up and hour early to write in a journal while burning palo santo after 30 minutes of meditation (if that calls to you, by all means, do that), but it doesn’t have to take a lot of time and it doesn’t have to be hard. They can be the first 5 things you think of. Maybe it’s your warm blankets or hearing the birds sing. Or maybe they are deeper than that. The important part is that you find 5 things, first thing in the morning, before starting your day. If you wait until after you get up, who knows what might take you off track. I know for me, there are days where I am bombarded with requests or needs before I even get to brush my teeth. So, not while brushing your teeth – before your feet hit the floor. This shifts your entire energy for the day.

Before you drift off to sleep, reflect on your day. Reflect on 3 things you’re grateful for and then 1-2 things you’re proud of yourself for doing. The second part is important. We all have days where we feel like we didn’t show up as our best selves, but if you can practice finding something you’re proud of, it can change the game. Maybe it’s as simple as the fact that you got up and did your day when you didn’t feel like it. Or maybe there was a conversation with your child that stood out. Maybe you texted someone back today. It doesn’t have to be award-winning, just something you can recognize and then pat yourself on the back for doing. When you do this, you build yourself up instead of breaking yourself down. More common than not, women especially, berate themselves for all of the things they didn’t do that day. Things they should have done differently. That is a waste of energy and counterproductive. Instead, drift off to sleep feeling grateful and proud.

Affirmations are a wonderful way to help to train your brain to see and feel the positives – for the past, present and future.

Try this affirmation before you go to sleep (or whenever you feel the need) to help you create the feeling of already having whatever it is you want or are working towards:

“I am so happy and grateful now that _________”

When you train your brain to feel Iike you already have it, it will help you achieve it. Rather than looking at all of the obstacles ahead of you, you are attracting that feeling you want toward you.

That’s it! 3 easy ways to practice gratitude…short, simple, and crazy effective when practiced consistently. Choose just one of these to start and add on once you’ve got it down.