# Practice daily gratitude It's only when we practice daily gratitude that we can stop feeling gloomy about the past. Our brains are wired to remember the less happy parts of our lives for some reason. Using [[Mindfulness]] to also track the positive has huge long term benefits! Go ahead and [[Fill your days with gratitude]]. ![[Be Grateful for the small things too - cover image.png]] Caption: Be grateful for the simple pleasures of life. Image generated using DALL-E ## Introduction What do you see when you look back? Do you remember everything clearly? What stands out? Do you remember what made you happy yesterday? Last week? What about last month or last year? If it's all blurry/unclear, don't worry. It's the case for many people. We all forget most of what we see/experience in life. Our brains are filtering machines because there's just too much information to process all the time. It's no wonder that we forget so much. We tend to cling onto the memories of big events, but forget about all the rest. In addition, as we age, everything seems to accelerate. Our perception of time changes, our memory becomes less and less reliable (whether we want it or not), and we suffer from "tunnel vision". Keeping a "gratitude log" helps remember more, and feel happier. ## It's the small things... Happiness is not only a transient feeling that we experience from time to time. It's a state of mind. More than that, it's a muscle that we can all train. A habit that we can all develop. We need to pay attention. It all starts with the small things. We all tend to think that happiness comes from big life events like having kids, getting married, etc. But, in reality, we can feel happy about many more small events than big ones. But for that to happen, we need to: 1. Notice those 2. Appreciate those 3. Remember those In addition, we need to stop comparing life events to each other. Yes, in the grand scheme of things, the birth of my third son is a huge life event that made me incredibly happy. But eating my favorite sandwich yesterday also made me happy. Of course, if I compare those two events, one "counts" and the other does not. But in reality, thinking about each in isolation brings me joy. Keep this in mind: comparison is poison! ![[Be grateful for the small things too - little things.png]] Caption: Small things and events make us feel good every day. We just have to pay more attention. Image generated using DALL-E Small things and events make us feel good every day. We just have to pay more attention. Image generated using DALL-E Being more grateful about the small things can have a huge impact on your mental state. You may have smiled while walking along the beach, felt proud for helping a family member or friend, been glad that you went out swimming or received a package you were impatient to receive. There are countless small things that make us happier every day. Notice, appreciate, take note! ## How to be more grateful See: [[How to be more grateful]] ## Related - [[How to be more grateful]]