7 Ways Gratitude Helps Us to Focus

Gratitude keeps us grounded, focused on the present. Being content is being thankful for what we already have. Thanksgiving allows a time of reflection on what’s happened, where we’ve grown, what’s surprised us, we count our life blessings and then we can look ahead with a hopeful attitude.

I can lose perspective when I’m not present here and now. I’m either daydreaming or looking ahead only we leaves me feeling stuck today. Holding past, present, and future up to God means they can all work together and not exist in unhelpful isolation.

Living in the Past
We all can learn from Napoleon Dynamite’s Uncle Rico that living in the past isn’t the best way to live. Being in the past alone can leave us feeling regret and hopeless because of what we didn’t do or something we wish we hadn’t done. Looking back constantly can also be full of fear of what’s coming from our past to bite us or rear-end us like in a car crash.

Living in the Future
But, living in the future isn’t ideal either. When we only look ahead, we’re always not yet there. We haven’t achieved that goal yet. We haven’t become that writer yet. Our goal posts keep moving as we make progress. When we focus on the future, we only see that we’ve not reached the finish line yet.

Living in the Present
Gratitude offers a different perspective. Gratitude allows us to be here today while keeping the tension in check. We can be thankful while holding onto the known of the past and holding onto unknown of the future. Gratitude gives us the opportunity to be a supportive observer of progress and supported holder of hope.

There are undoubtedly countless ways to grow in gratitude. Here are several reflections which I’ve found helpful to I engage regularly to live with gratitude:

For the morning:
1. Today I am grateful for…
I look back at what’s happened recently and I take time to look around me. In the physical, I often notice the good about my home, my job, my family, my health and body. In the emotional, mental, and spiritual I often notice something that feels happy or something I’ve accomplished or how I’m experiencing my relationship with God.

I list 3-5 items or phrases that express what I’m thankful for in the morning.

2. What would make today great?
I consider what I hope to accomplish in the day and imagine what it’d be like if I could show up how I want to. Often my list of “great” comes what I want to accomplish and in some ways it can become a to do list. Other times it includes thoughts about being present or a mindset. We want every day to be great, right? So, I always intend to keep this reflection for items which I have control over.

I list 3-5 to do’s or to be’s in the morning as I look ahead to the day.

3. I’m thankful for these people:
I usually consider this in the morning and lift up 3-5 people that I feel particular gratitude for. Most days it’s my husband in one of the slots and usually it’s my coach, pastor, spiritual director, or friend who has helped me through something or stuck with me in something or for whom I simply feel full of love and gratitude.

Sometimes I spend a moment in the evening to thank God for the conversations that happened throughout the day with certain people. Whether morning or evening or throughout the day, noticing the people in my life in the here and now helps me. Acknowledging them points me toward progress made that they’ve helped me though and points me toward hopeful future with them in my community.

You might even consider writing one of these people a note or postcard to send in the mail. Or, perhaps a text or phone call would be better. Sometimes taking a moment to make a personal connection helps us experience more ingrained gratitude and passes on a feeling of thanksgiving to those whom we’re thankful for.

4. Awesome things that happened today…
Usually I’ll reflect on this in the evening, but sometimes I’ll start in the morning to reflect on the previous day. I list 3-5 things that happened in the day that were a surprise, a relief, a moment of joy, an accomplishment, a gift.

Sometimes it’s amazing or awesome or really cool because it was a hard thing I was trying to achieve (like drinking more water than coffee or having a hard conversation with someone that resulted in a better situation) and it’s sometime awesome because I got to be with a person or was surprised by noticing God in a situation even when I wasn’t intentionally reflecting, but being present in the here and now.

5. How could I have made today better?
I usually list 2 things each night that I could have done better. It’s amusing how over time I can see the consistent struggle to run more frequently, do more yoga, eat healthier, go to bed earlier.

Like #2 with what we can do to make today great, this one is also a focus on things that are within the realm of our control where we’d like to improve. Noticing the regularities allow us time

6. What did I learn today?
Looking at what I’ve learned allows me to realize that yes, indeed, I have made progress. My own tendency is to look so far ahead in the dreamland of “Wouldn’t it be cool if?!” if I’m not taking intentional action and noticing what progress I make.

A head in the clouds in fun for a time, but it’s not a healthy place for me to live as it’s a seed for despair when I only consider the lack of what hasn’t happened yet, since I dream of that which isn’t reality.

As a lifelong learner, I also want lifelong learning for others, so at the end of the day, I hope you’ll reflect. Whether it is “I learned that something is wrong with the toilet” or “I learned that I need to learn x” or “I learned how to plot my novel” each of these measure progress and paint a picture of transformation.

7. Where have I experienced God today?
This allows me to pause and spend time breathing, praying, asking God to reveal Himself to me. Even if this is a mere moment, I think spending a moment is better than never. I do this throughout the day and have had seasons of setting an alarm or calendar notification every couple hours to help me re-focus.

Some people would describe this as a time of contemplative prayer or an examen to reflect on consolations (all of the good, life-giving, invigorating things) and desolations (all of the bad, life-draining, wearing-out things).

If faith is important to you, I’d encourage you to do this each evening before bed and ask God to show you where He was at work over the last 24 hours. Even if faith isn’t important to you, I’d encourage you to consider where you noticed anything spiritual happening. Who knows what may come to mind?

How would you feel if you decided that TODAY is the day to become the writer you’ve always dreamed of being? Grateful?

Book a call with me to see if 1-on-1 time with a creative writing coach is your next right step.