Life is hard. I get that. I also get that life is certainly harder for some people than for others. Sometimes, we lose sight of how good we really have it. You may be familiar with the concept of hedonic adaptation. That’s when you simply get used to something good. As part of your new normal, you take it for granted. To help mitigate or even overcome this, it’s important to exercise gratitude regularly. It’s why I’m sharing a bit of my gratitude journal with you today.

Over the years, I’ve visited this idea under a few different names. I participated in the 30 Days of Gratitude challenge, for example. You may have read one or more of my Thankful Thursday posts too. Today’s gratitude journal is much the same, taking some time to self-reflect and to remind myself to be grateful for what I have. I encourage you to do the same.

Hugs

One of the most common parenting cliches is “blink and you’ll miss it.” Children grow up right before our eyes, faster than we could have possibly anticipated. They’re only little for so long, so we should try our best to cherish every moment. I am incredibly grateful that my six-year-old will happily give me a big, warm hug whenever I need it. Her hugs are the best and I hope that she never outgrows this phase.

Hugs from my four-month-old aren’t quite there yet. He’s more inclined to grab at my face, but I’ll gladly take all the baby snuggles I can get too. Even if he claws at my chin and cheeks.

Stability

We all know that 2020 was a year filled with uncertainty and volatility. Life can be very hard when you don’t know what tomorrow might bring, or if you’re not sure how you’re going to keep the lights on and put food on the table. Thankfully, we didn’t have to endure these kinds of concerns. Despite all the challenges the pandemic has created, our lives have been relatively stable. We’re very fortunate.

Mom

My mom and I have our disagreements, just like anyone else does. But it’s also largely because of her — along with my flexible work schedule and my wife’s maternity leaves — that we’ve never had to pay for any sort of childcare whatsoever. Well, aside from the couple of hours of preschool two or three times a week. We’ve never had to even think about signing up for daycare wait lists, not to mention how to manage the expense of it all. I don’t thank her often enough, but I really should.

Books

A few years ago, I made the conscious decision to start reading more books again. Growing up, books were such a big part of my life. It might even be because of authors like Michael Crichton that I got into writing as a potential profession in the first place. These days, between the public library, my Kindle, audiobooks, and more, I’m reading a lot. It’s amazing how books can be both engaging and relaxing at the same time.

Buy Nothing

I’d like to close this edition of my gratitude journal by thanking my local buy nothing group. To my knowledge, there are buy nothing groups for neighborhoods all around the world. When I’ve got something that I don’t need anymore, I share it with the group. Likewise, we’ve been gifted a number of items from other group members too. Part of it has to do with reducing consumer waste, but I am also grateful for the community that has developed around this movement too.

What’s on Your Gratitude Journal?

It’s far too easy to take things for granted. Thus, we must be intentional, choosing to be thankful for what we have. With that in mind, once again, I encourage you to take a moment or two to reflect on your own life circumstances. What would you include in your gratitude journal?