30 Jul There needs to be more to “what’s going well?” …
As I’m sure many of you do too, every day I practice gratitude. I have a journalling routine that involves relatively informal expressive writing in the morning (mostly about how I’m feeling but also how I want to be within those feelings) and then each evening, I make a simpler and more structured entry into my journal that’s essentially … what’s going well AND what could be better.
There’s no doubt the first is fantastically beneficial. And if that’s all you do, then great. The practice of gratitude and appreciation has been found to be associated with enhance health and happiness and so much more.
But for me, that’s not quite enough. And I think many others would also benefit from the additional component I’ve included in my daily habits for several years now. Quite simply, it’s how I can be and what I can make better.
Feeling good about what is, is great. But that doesn’t mean we have to settle for that. And either way, we’re none of us perfect so we can all look to improve.
Which is what this happiness habit is all about … self-improvement; oh, and where we can, world improvement!
So, by all means, focus on what’s going well but next time you do, try also asking yourself something like …
- what could be better?
- What can I do to make things better?
- how can I be better?
- who can I reach out to or spend more time with for things to be better?
I think you get the idea; but feel free to play around with the wording of those questions and come up with something that works for you.