Every day starts with sunrise. Every. Single. Day. A new beginning. What better way to begin a new day than with morning affirmations?
Stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, I commuted to work every day. I was so caught up in how inconvenient the traffic was, that oftentimes I would forget to notice the sunrise.
Every morning, I’d leave my home at dark, and arrive at my work with the first lights of that day.
I watched a TED video about positive psychology and the scientific results on ways to become happier. One way to become happier was to be thankful. I decided to begin my days with gratitude morning affirmations on my drive to work. What began as a frustrating drive, turned into a morning gratitude ritual watching the sunrise.
I’d start going through all of the things I was thankful for. My car ride was 45 minutes to 1 hour. Anytime my mind would wander, I’d bring it right back to gratitude. If I couldn’t think of something new, I’d just repeat some of what I had already said.
And I’d watch the sunrise.
My gratitude morning affirmations were aloud and went something like this:
I’m so thankful for my life.
I’m so thankful for this coffee, this car to take me places.
I’m thankful for my parents and my siblings.
I’m thankful for this job I have.
I’m thankful for this sunrise.
I’m thankful for my senses.
I’m thankful for my emotions.
I’m thankful for the food I’ll have today.
I’m thankful for my clothes.
I’m thankful for the comfortable bed I got to sleep on last night.
I’m thankful for the safe place I live in.
I’m thankful for the education I received.
I’m thankful for my health.
I’m thankful for the experiences I’ve had to learn.
I’m thankful for this air I have to breathe. For the birds flying through the air.
I’m thankful for my friends, for their compassion towards me.
I’m thankful for my partner, and the beautiful parts he brings out of me.
I’m thankful for my travels.
I’m thankful for the computer I have to work on.
I’m thankful for the phone I have to call people.
I’m thankful for facetime video to connect with people I love abroad.
I’m thankful for a grocery store that has everything I need.
You get the point. I would literally do this for the ENTIRE car ride.
Sounds impossible?
How many times have you spent your entire car ride thinking about all of your problems? Or thinking about the things that upset you last night?
It’s so easy to spend an hour or two thinking about ALL of the things not going perfect in your life.
Sometimes we get so consumed thinking about what we don’t have, that we lose sight of what we DO have.
The same car ride, but different experience. Just by focusing on the things I’m thankful for.
This is when I realized first hand, that happiness is not something you obtain.
