A "gratitude list,". 


The theory is that it helps
 you to appreciate the gift of 
simply being alive.














A recent major midlife meltdown, however, provided the incentive, for me to give the gratitude-list drill a fair try again. But I did not survey my world and suddenly think, "Gee whiz, everything really stinks. Hey, I know! Instead of eating a bag of potato chips, I'll write a gratitude list." No, someone strongly suggested that I scrounge up 25 reasons to feel grateful for my life.




In fact, I only managed to fake make 10 entries by imagining what someone else in my situation might possibly have cause to celebrate. Amazing! It worked and I felt better. Who knew?


Let me offer three suggestions for getting started.


Hand-write your gratitude list. Don't use the computer for this. The physical act of writing helps imprint the feeling of gratitude. Also writing out your list by hand provides more time for contemplation, which makes for a more thoughtful list.


Set a realistic goal. Avoid complete collapse by starting off with a unreasonable number of gratitude items. Better to limit yourself to ONE good reason for thanksgiving than to dredge up 50 from the deep well of gratitude.


Don't worry about actually feeling genuinely grateful for anything at first.. If even this feels like too much of a stretch,instead of calling it a gratitude list, title yours


"Hey, it could be worse" and take it from there.