The 60 Second Gratitude Practice You Should Steal From Me (and 11 fun graphics to help you)
Sometimes the best ideas come from unexpected inspiration! I spent 60 seconds telling people in my life I was grateful for them and the most amazing thing happened. Not only did I brighten their day, but it brought amazing joy to my own life. I’ll share this simple 60 second gratitude practice and I have 11 fun graphics to make your gratitude messages colorful and inspiring.
inspiration created this 60 second gratitude practice
Recently something really weird happened to me.
I sat down with my first (strong af) cup of coffee and my journal, and one of my friends popped in my mind. I thought about how sometimes life gets in the way and I don’t make time to say “hey” or message her to see what’s going on in her life, but she always seems to do that for me. She is great at keeping in touch and this is one of my weaknesses.
I always love to hear from her. We both like to talk about our families, we share a love of Bon Jovi, and an exasperation for dieting. I feel like she gets me, and I understand her.
I felt this little nudge of inspiration…. to tell her I appreciate her.
My first thought was, “awesome, I’ll message her tonight.” And smugly took a swig of coffee.
But inspiration is a sneaky little thing. You have to act on it soon or it fades away. This I am learning.
Inspiration politely tapped my shoulder. In a virtual way, of course.
So I put down my pen, grabbed my phone, and sent her a quick message.
I didn’t use beautiful prose, and I probably didn’t even use correct grammar or punctuation. I just took 60 seconds to tell my friend I was thinking of her and I was glad she is in my life.
Then the weirdest thing happened.
My sister popped in my mind and, just like with my friend, I just felt this rush of gratitude for her. This time inspiration didn’t need to knock twice. I took another 60 seconds and texted her a quick message to say “hi and I’m thankful for you.” I added smiley emojis and a baby picture to her message.
Inspiration was flowing that morning (she must drink stronger coffee than I), because I probably sent 10 messages to people in my life. They were all super quick, but a one minute message doesn’t lessen the impact a kind message has on someone. (And, as I discovered, on ME.)
We probably all know this intuitively, but people love to be appreciated.
“Don’t forget, a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.”
After my flurry of texting and Twitter DM’ing, I sat with my journal again.
I felt strangely happy. Almost euphorically happy.
It was not the coffee, I’m almost 100% sure. I buy the cheap Keurig cups, $6.99 for a dozen, for goodness’ sake.
Telling the people in my life I appreciated them made ME feel happy.
Not in an “I’m proud of myself” sort of way. I’m not even sure how to describe it. I just felt GOOD. Not that I’m a rock star for reaching out to my friends, but I was just happy.
It’s like when you buy someone a Christmas present and you’re super pleased with your purchase. It doesn’t matter if the person likes it or not. It doesn’t matter that you haven’t given the gift yet. It doesn’t matter if the fuschia pillow with cheeky motivational slogan won’t match a damn thing in their home decor.
Giving to others just feels good. Gratitude feels amazing.
And my simple, totally unplanned, 60 second gratitude practice was all it took.
If I were an amazing blogger I’d do my research and tell you the psychological reason why. But it’s almost noon and I’m hungry and you can google it for yourself if you want.
I think you intuitively know it feels good to tell people we’re thinking of them.
It feels good to be kind without expecting anything in return.
It feels good to express love and gratitude.
It feels good to spread happiness.
Right?
how to send your own 60 second gratitude messages.
You probably don’t want to copy some of the things I do, like hitting the snooze button 37 times before I wake up, but I hope you’ll try this little 60 second gratitude exercise for yourself.
Pick one person and take 60 seconds to tell them you appreciate them.
Tell them they’re funny or kind or smart. Or they write the BEST romance novels. (One of my awesome guy friends does this, btw.) Or they make the best chocolate cookies you’ve ever tasted, or they accessorize like a boss.
Tell them you’re happy they are in your life.
It’s not only going to make them feel amazing, but it will put a smile on your face. I freaking guarantee it.
How do you do it?
Just text or message. Bonus points if you actually make a real live phone call.
It’s simple. You know the person and you know yourself and that means you’ll know exactly what to say.
And in case your coffee hasn’t kicked in yet, I have 11 fun graphics to inspire you. I’ve sprinkled some throughout this post, and others are down below. Let the thoughts inspire your words, or just copy the graphic (save to your computer, or tap and hold on your phone and save to your camera roll). Pop the image in a quick message and voila! You’ve brightened someone’s day and, likely, will have brightened your own as well.
So scroll below and back up above and take a peek at the images.
Wishing you a fabulous day full of appreciation and sunshine! Oh, and be sure to buy the cheap Keurig coffee that leads to amazing inspiration.
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Welcome!
Are you a busy lady (like me) who really, really wants to live a healthy life? I get it because I’m obsessed with living my best life too. Here you’ll find simple ideas and strategies to plan a healthy and happy life.
I’m Jacqui, by the way, and I’m the crazy busy lady behind Plan A Healthy Life.
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