If you are familiar with mindfulness, or meditation practice, you may know about gratitude lists. These are lists of things that you are grateful for. From tiny things like the weather, the tube being on time or a tasty coffee. To big things like your health, friends or partner.

I am grateful for the diverse and inspiring part of London we live in.

Why I love my gratitude practice

It makes me feel amazing and can put me in a much more positive mood for the day. This is especially true when carried out on a daily basis, or even a few times a day. I find it makes me realise, in a conscious way, how many good things are in my life. So that when something challenging happens I can cope with it much better.

The practicalities

You can write your gratitude list on paper, on your phone, you can say it out loud, or you can just in your head. I have a list on my phone that I can look at for inspiration, but mainly I just do it in my head. The trick is to get into the habit of it. Think of a time in your day when you have no distractions (especially from technology), this could be in the shower, doing your teeth, on your walk to the station, or on the bus.

I always try to do mine in bed before I go to sleep. It is a nice review of the day and sends me off to sleep in a positive space. It is harder to be in a routine at the weekend, but I found once I got in the habit I find doing it in any random moment of calm.

Give it a go, what have you got to lose? Even if you can only think of three things for your gratitude list, that’s still three things!