Celebrate Your Gratitude - All Year Long

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and that makes me pretty much obligated to write a post on the topic of “giving thanks.” When I think about the Thanksgiving holiday, I think about gratitude. It’s the one day of the year when we’re specifically encouraged to be grateful. We’re supposed to spend special time with our family and loved ones while recognizing the positive impact they have in our lives. We’re reminded to “count our blessings.”

Personally, I think gratitude should be an integral part of everyone’s daily lives. We should strive to be grateful all the time and not only on a holiday. In the recovery community in particular, gratitude is something that’s stressed a lot, but it’s something that applies to everyone.

We need to be thankful for the positive things in our lives because it’s how we stay positive and on the right track (whether in recovery or not). Gratitude helps us appreciate life and stay grounded in our recovery; it reminds us how much better our lives are in recovery than they ever were before. And all of that helps us to avoid relapse and to be happy, productive members of society.

I always thought the concept of a gratitude journal sounded really cheesy - until I tried it for myself. It might not sound appealing to you either, but I would encourage everyone to give it a try for at least a week. A gratitude journal (i.e. a notebook or Word document) is a place for you to record at least one thing you’re grateful for every night. You could write about something very significant, like your friends, or you could write about something in particular that happened to you during the day, such as receiving a compliment from a stranger or catching the sunset. You can be vague or provide detailed descriptions - whatever you write it is up to you.

I’ll give you an example of what my gratitude journal is like.

When I started it, I wrote a list of the things I am most grateful for in life, which included my son, my family, my friends, our health, my recovery, a place to live, a good car, a job that I enjoy, and nature.

Yesterday, I wrote: Today I was grateful for the support of my father, the happiness of my son, the fact that the rain storm wasn’t as bad as expected, and my boyfriend.

My gratitude journal is a pick-me-up for anytime I’m feeling down. Reading it reminds me of all the positive things in my life even when the negatives seem overwhelming. Just the simple act of writing a few sentences in it every night has improved my overall mood and outlook on life. As someone who struggles with depression, it’s been a very helpful tool for me.

A gratitude journal is so simple, but also so powerful. What do you think about giving it a try? Does anyone keep a gratitude journal already? If you don’t want to keep a daily journal, try writing a “master list” of things you’re grateful for so that you have something to read when you need some uplifting. I’d love if you would share some of the things you’re grateful for today in the comment section. I wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!!

Lisa M. Hann is a freelance writer and author who specializes in addiction recovery. She holds a B.A. in Journalism from Temple University. She resides in New Jersey with her son. She has been sober since 2010 and is a Caron PA alum. She is the author of "How to Have Fun in Recovery" and "365 Ways to Have Fun Sober" (available in the Kindle store).