Practicing Gratitude: What my broken fridge taught me

Reflecting on things that you are thankful for can be quite healthy. To maximize the effects though, you’ll want to make it an exercise that you practice routinely, and not just something you do when gathering with loved ones around a giant turkey. Just like any other exercise, engaging in gratitude has benefits to your well-being. And, just like any other routine, I know what you must be thinking. “Ugh! Practice! Routine! Work!” The best part of thinking about things you’re grateful for though is that it’s easy! Maximum benefit for minimal effort. Those are the best types of exercises! 

Perhaps the most straightforward approach is to just be mindful throughout your day. Take notice of it when you’re feeling appreciative about a situation or something you’re experiencing. Before you know it, you’ll be doing this naturally, as little moments come up.  

Something more tangible and in-depth can be journaling. While this may take a bit more effort, it doesn’t have to be a daily thing. Take time once a week or so, and jot down just a thing or two that stuck out to you that you’re feeling especially thankful for. As a matter of fact, less is more in this case. Whereas your daily routine may rack up a bunch of little moments, the journaling can be limited to one or two. Instead of going wide with quantity, you’ll want to go deeper with that one special thing.

For example, a couple of weeks ago, my refrigerator went on the fritz. To make matters worse, a repair technician wasn’t available to come service our fridge until three weeks after we lost it. Living day-to-day on take-out and not being able to store things or keep things fresh was frustrating, not to mention a big hassle. When our repairs were finally done, and we were able to “live normally” again, it was a big deal! I began to reflect on just how much I take for granted the technology, yes, but as I dove deeper into it, I began to realize that what I truly appreciate about having access to refrigeration is the convenience that technology provides. Specifically, being able to have fresh fruit and vegetables readily available to me (I missed fruit so much while we were doing takeout every night!) was something I was truly thankful for. I also realized how much variety a refrigerator allows for. Much of our breakfast without a freezer or refrigerator was limited to muffins, bananas, or whatever we could pick up at Starbucks – things that would last a day or two, max. Being able to eat eggs, or heat up frozen waffles, and even just having the ability to enjoy an ice-cold drink (in summer heat no less!) made me truly appreciate the flexibility and choice my technology afforded me. And that also led me to thinking how just having that one appliance in my home gave me something I truly am grateful for: control. I loved being able to plan my meals again, on my own terms, rather than having to strategize over what our family would buy to eat for that next meal. Being in control of feeding my family and myself allows for a certain peace of mind that I didn’t have during those three weeks, something else I appreciate now that I don’t have to worry as much over “what’s next?”

So as you can see, taking something, even just one thing in particular, like my faulty fridge, can send you down a rabbit hole of gratitude. I am thankful for my working refrigerator as it grants me convenience and peace in my day. I also love how the food we are able to prepare from having a refrigerator helps connect me connect with my family. I love seeing the smile on my family’s faces when we gather for meals and we have all the condiments and drinks we want in our refrigerator ready to go. What are you thankful for this week?

I want to end by addressing what I don’t mean when I encourage the practice of gratitude. What I wouldn’t do is to push for an attitude of a Pollyanna. Continuing with the exercise metaphor, I think being excessively thankful and cheerful can be over-doing it. You start to force gratitude on things that you’re not truly feeling good about and the results come back with no benefit, even negative results - just as you can over train or overexert yourself.

Genuine, authentic gratitude, when you nail down little things here and there on the daily; or if you can write about a big one in depth, reflect on it, and truly embrace it, can be life-improving. And as you journal each week, see if you can challenge yourself to write about something new each week. This way, you train your brain to look for new and different things to be grateful for. 

Gratitude can also improve your relationship with your partner.

Make it a habit to notice what you appreciate about your relationship and your partner, and make it a habit to acknowledge and affirm your partner. 

I am wishing you happiness and joy.  I hope you have a wonderful week ahead. 

Image Disclaimer: Stock photos used. Posed by models.