You may want to make regular use of the Appreciations Log, as it is a great tool for training yourself to focus on the gold that is glittering in your life. I have found this exercise to be an effective way to change my perspective when I am focused on doom and gloom. When you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, this exercise awakens you to the light coming through the holes in the sides of the tunnel.
As I heard a Zen teacher once say, “Your attention is like a watering can. Whatever you focus on will grow. You have a choice to water the flowers or the weeds.” You may have found that you tend to focus more on the weeds. This—what researchers call “negativity bias”—has been found to be true of all us humans. Our tendency to focus on the negative severely limits our ability to feel joy and ease in our lives. The good news is we can retrain our brains to focus on the positive.
Guidelines: Make a list of what you appreciate throughout the day in a pocket notebook or digital device. Add each appreciation to your list when you experience it. There is a lot that you will miss and not remember if you wait till the end of the day to make your list. A brief phrase or sentence that will remind you of each appreciation will be enough, e.g., listening to the birds, looking up at the blue sky or lunch with your best friend. Include brief glimpses as well as more profound experiences. Be sure to include yourself as an object of appreciation, e.g., presenting a good idea at a meeting, listening to a friend in need or making a good joke.
Why write it down? Life coaches have a saying, “Ink it, don’t think it.” If you commit it to paper, the observation becomes more concrete, giving it more significance than an ephemeral thought. When you take the time and physical effort to write it, you are embedding the experience deeper into your consciousness.