The Secret

 This post was actually written about me by Kody Duncan in his weekly newsletter, Habit Examples.  It was so good I wanted to share it here.   

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My friend Shiree has been listing 3 things she’s grateful for every morning for 7 years.

The second I heard this, I thought “how on Earth do your eyeballs not melt out of their sockets in boredom?”

I mean, literally the first Habit Example ever was about the study that found most people who attempt gratitude journaling every day actually become less happy, because they get bored.

But after talking to Shiree, I think they (and I) were just missing one crucial piece to the puzzle.

A challenge.

To never write down the same thing twice.

Again, I was a bit dumbfounded.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for a lotta things in my life.

But 3 unique things she’s grateful for every morning for 7 years equates to 7,665 things.

Back in college I remember being in a funk for a few weeks. I challenged myself to write 100 things I was grateful for and gave myself a whole week.

And that was hard!

So again, I had to ask, “Shiree, be real - how have you listed 7,665 things you’re grateful for and not repeated a single one?!”

Here’s what she said:

The secret to not repeating what you are grateful for is to make it very specific.  I.e. "I am grateful for the enlightening conversation I had with so-and-so yesterday".  "I am grateful that I saw my neighbor struggling with her groceries and was able to jump in and help", "I am grateful that you (God) blessed me with the right words for my email on setting intentions".... you see how that works?  When we notice God in the details of each day and express gratitude it makes repeating practically impossible!

That's the secret.

Simple, yet powerful.

So whether you simply wanna try listing out a few things you’re grateful for each day like Shiree, or you wanna be better at expressing gratitude to people you care about… specificity is king.

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❝   You will never be happier than you are grateful.   Gary B. Sabin