Being grateful for the daily small miracles

In my last post I talked about switching from a negative outlook to a positive one. Megan commented on one of her techniques for doing that - a gratitude list. I find that listing out the things I'm grateful for really does help me feel more positive, happy, and yes - grateful.

I wrote about increasing gratitude before if you'd like some tips on making room for gratitude in your life. I also want to share something I've tried to do lately that has increased my gratitude and helped me focus on the positive things in my life.

Every evening I like to reflect back on the day. I try to remember the positive things that have happened, and think about the things I am grateful for that day. I also look for the little 'miracles' that occur daily.

For example, yesterday I was backing out of a friend's driveway. Her driveway is narrow and has ditches on each side. See where this is going? Yes, I backed up right into a ditch and got stuck. :( But it was a miracle to me that we got the car out quickly and safely. I'm grateful that (so far!) I didn't seem to cause any damage to the car. (We haven't noticed anything, anyway.) But even if there is damage, I'll still be grateful that it was a small accident and that no one was hurt.

There's always something to be thankful for; there will always be tiny miracles happening in our lives every day. If we aren't paying attention, we may not even notice them. Take some time to reflect today on the miracles in your life. Even better, write them down so you can get a positive boost every time you read it.