Gratitude Reflects Your Mood And Has the Power to Change It

Take Pen to Paper: Edition 113

Susan G.S. Abel

Nov 21, 2024

Hi Readers!

How are you doing today?

When you read my gratitude on any given day, you will get an idea of how I’m doing.

In this newsletter:

Your gratitude reflects your mood.
Writing gratitude changes your mood and more.
Who will notice?

Gratitude as Your Mirror

When I write gratitude in the morning, I write the first thing that pops into my head. By doing this, I catch what is on my mind at that moment and acknowledge some things that might be passed over. It’s a true reflection of my current state of mind.

It comes as no surprise that my process generates repetition. Those repeats show me how my gratitude is a reflection of my mood.

One day, I will be grateful for waking early. On another, I’ll write gratitude for sleeping in. Or, there have been days when I’m grateful for a day when I need to go somewhere and those when I’m grateful to stay home.

Gratitude is a reflection of how you feel in that moment, whatever that may be.

Gratitude Brings on Change

No matter your mood, because you have written gratitude, you are setting the stage for positivity. Gratitude is a positive feeling, so it only makes sense that it puts us in a positive state of mind.

I’ve written before about how I became more positive at a time when I thought I was one of the most positive people I knew. By writing gratitude, each day started with positivity and carried me through the day.

However, practicing gratitude changes much more that your day, including:

Your ability to see more to be grateful for.
Your outlook - The more you see to be grateful for, the more you expect to see.
Your view of others and the world - The lens of gratitude makes it easier to think of others and the world in positive terms.
Your view of yourself - Gratitude helps you see your values and strengths.
Your brain - Gratitude creates positive networks through multiple regions, channeling the brain toward the positive and good.

That is a lot of possible change from a small habit.

People Can’t Help But Notice

If you create a gratitude habit and change in one of the abovementioned ways, chances are people will notice.

I started writing gratitude in the summer of 2021. Even a year or more into COVID, schools and educators struggled professionally and personally. (It is a coincidence that I started when I did.) Everything was a challenge for educators in special education, from teaching to parent meetings.

During small talk greetings at the beginning of a meeting with my administrative peers, when asked how I was doing, my answer was, “Great!” They didn’t take my answer as sarcasm. They could tell I meant it. I was the only one that sounded happy. One responded, “Well, I need some of what you have.”

I had gratitude.

I didn’t feel the need to complain. I knew I had a lot to be grateful for. I could see how hard we were working. Good things were happening. I found it easy to contribute a positive comment. I felt no desire to participate in negative conversations. They served no purpose. Before creating my gratitude habit, I would have gladly joined in the conversation.

Gratitude changed me. Gratitude can change you.

7 Days, 7 Thoughts on Gratitude and Good:

The bubbles that delight a child only last for seconds. Gratitude lasts much longer.
At 95 pages, The Little Book of Gratitude by Dr. Robert A Emmons is a small bag of gems explaining gratitude.
A quote: “The experience of gratitude really matters, not just for our moment-to-moment wellbeing, but also in the lasting residue woven into our very being.” - Robert A. Emmons.
It’s good to practice gratitude not only for yourself but also for others; they will see your gratitude through your words, actions, and positive attitude.
I am grateful that it just took several weeks of practicing gratitude to experience change. I felt it in four weeks; others recognized it in me in two months.
It’s good to share your gratitude. Maybe others will get curious and ask how they can do the same.
Thanksgiving is next week. Where do you fall in these numbers about the holiday?

Thank you for reading. This week, think about your attitude. Have you changed through gratitude or do you need to change?

Until next time,

💚

Susan

What experiences have you had that make you realize you need to express gratitude? Leave a comment and let me know. I would love to read about it.

🙏Bonus thru November🙏

Last year, I created a free gratitude template for anyone interested in either:

starting a daily gratitude practice
stretching your gratitude practice

The template is 31 topics and example sentences for gratitude. Thirty-one topics will get you through each day in any month. Isn’t November a great time to start?

My journaling habit started with gratitude. It has brought me more than I imagined, so it’s natural for me to recommend it.

I love having a guide and examples when I take on a new endeavor. I hope this template provides that for anyone who wants to use it. There are three ways to access the template.

Access and make a copy of this Google Document: The Daily Gratitude Habit Jumpstart
Go to The Daily Gratitude Jumpstart by clicking this link https://sgsabel.gumroad.com/l/DailyGratitudeHabitJumpstart. Or enter it into your browser.
When you scroll down the page, you should see my Gumroad home page without the “Name a fair Price” section circled. In the “Name a fair price” box, put the numeral “0” because this is free! You provide your email, and a copy will be sent to you to download.

You can also access Gumroad through my website, takepentopaper.com, which has a link to the site described above.

Let me know if you have any problems by commenting or answering this email. Technology and I are often at odds, and I may need to tweak access.

I will post the above in my newsletter throughout November. Remember, the template is not month-specific. Use it any time.

Take Pen to Paper