I wonder how often our days are defined by what went wrong – the missed bus, the gridlocked traffic, the boring meeting – rather than everything that went right. And the reality is that for most of us, most things go well for most of the time. It’s about celebrating the victories, no matter how small, each day – a good night’s sleep, getting everyone out of the house on time in the morning, the traffic being quieter, shopping and finding the perfect top, no queue at the petrol station, the well-timed cup of tea… the list goes on. Victory after victory, success after success.
There is a surprising amount of research which explores and establishes the importance of being grateful and expressing gratitude. This is not so much about spending your entire day saying thank you to everyone, although saying thank you when it’s appropriate to do so never goes amiss, and more about acknowledging what goes well every day. And so much does go well. Maybe nothing which will change the course of human history, yet the small successes which mean that life, in general, generally goes well. Stop for a moment.
Think about everything you did yesterday. All the tiny steps that took you from the start of the day to the end. How much actually went right? Mentally tick them off, and celebrate each and every one of them. Briefly think about what turned out differently… how much did it actually matter, and how much did you turn into a victory? Because you know that it really makes a difference, don’t you?