Practicing gratitude is a key component of living abundantly in recovery. Exercising gratitude each day can drastically improve your overall satisfaction in recovery, and is essential to your long-term success. As you may already know, addiction is destructive to all areas of your life in the short and long term. Having to rebuild your life in an entirely new way once you begin your recovery is challenging, and you might sometimes take three steps forward only to take two steps back. Knowing that sometimes things will inevitably go wrong along the way, gratitude is a key factor in approaching challenges with a positive mindset. Developing this practice is always an area you can grow, no matter how far along you are in recovery. We wanted to equip you with a few ways you can grow your gratitude practice now. Check these out below!
Why is Gratitude Important?
Firstly, let’s explore what gratitude is: Gratitude is the state of being grateful; thankfulness. There are many things to be grateful for, and you may find that everyone finds their own pockets of gratitude throughout everyday life. Finding moments of thankfulness keeps you grounded and focused on the positives side of each day. Gratitude can also teach us self-love, and how to direct that love outwards to others.
Ways You Can Start Practicing Gratitude
Start Small
Tell someone something you appreciate about them. Do you have a friend that answers every time you call? Let them know how grateful you are to have such an attentive friend! Showing gratitude doesn’t have to be a grand gesture – simply reminding those in your life that you care about them is a great way to start!
Commit To One Day
Finding more negativity than positivity in each day can stand in the way of you feeling appreciative. While we can’t ignore that some things just suck, finding the positives along the way can keep you feeling thankful. Pick one day out of the week that you aim for no complaints!
You Grow Through What You Go Through
As mentioned above, sometimes things don’t go the way you hoped they would. Having a growth mindset and appreciating the opportunity to learn from your experiences can keep you committed to gratitude. Did you recently slip up on your sobriety? Maybe it’s a good time to rework your recovery plan. Take what you learned from this experience and apply it to your recovery moving forward.
Extend Your Gratitude Outwards
Being of service to others in need reminds you to take the focus off of yourself, and instead pour into others. Offering support to others who need it – especially peers in recovery – can plant a seed of hope. By just offering up your time and sharing your experiences with others, you can help inspire others to find healthy recovery for themselves.
Spend a Moment In Solitude
Take a moment for yourself each day. Do a check-in – how are you feeling? Giving yourself the space and time to just be is one way you can show appreciation to your own physical, spiritual, and emotional self.
Journal It Out
Create a routine of writing down a few things you are grateful for. Start with the basics – are you grateful to be in recovery? Add it to the list. Excited for a new job? Add that to the list as well. Acknowledging what you’re thankful for each day will create a habit of living in a grateful mindset!
Find Your Own Practice
There is no wrong way to practice gratitude – it’s something you get to navigate on your own terms. Addiction can destroy so many positive aspects of life, so it’s important to center gratitude in your recovery to remind yourself of how much progress you’ve made. Continuing this practice will only support your long-term success further!
Looking For Additional Support?
Looking to grow your daily recovery routine by incorporating gratitude into your practice? Work with a Peer Recovery Specialist on how you can incorporate this into your recovery wellness plan!
Sources:
Merriam-Webster. “Gratitude.” Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2023. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gratitude.
Accessed 20 January 2023.
