Studies show that gratitude is an emotional state that can provide strength and resilience to those who express it often. This week, we want you to exercise your gratitude muscles. First, write a list of 3 times you missed opportunities to express gratitude or tell someone how much they mean to you. It doesn’t matter if it happened yesterday or last year. Next, go out and make up for the misses. If you have a former teacher who really impacted you, you could say, “I never thanked you for all the valuable lessons you gave me.” If you have a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while, you could say, “I never told you how important our friendship is to me, and I’m sorry we drifted apart.” If doing it in person is too hard, give it a try over email or text.
Shanahan for Ojai 