I was reading the book Vitamin-G-Gratitude by Prashant Jain. There are 42 exercises given in the book to practice gratitude. There are also few listed in the Circle of Gratitude Facebook group. I am listing three here.
I. Mental Subtraction: This exercise helps in avoiding taking things for granted. The book says, " Contemplating life without a loved one, or a limb can give us new found appreciation for something that we take for granted. While this may seem extreme, it is a great way of going beyond the mind's way of hedonic adaptation. This is like a back-door intervention for boosting gratitude. People who do this exercise tend to feel an enhanced sense of appreciation."
"One argument could be that we become more mindful of the good that is already present when we contemplate its absence. This same strategy can be applied to our good fortune, people, circumstances or events to feel greater appreciation and connection by subtracting this event and contemplating how life would be without it."
II. Mudita: Mudita is the Buddhist practice of finding happiness in the joy and success of others. This helps in overcoming envy and jealousy.
III. List all things you are grateful for each alphabet: You can select one alphabet and list all the things that you are grateful for in the world that start with that alphabet. The things are activities you list can vary from mundane to most attractive. You can do this exercise for 26 days, either in the morning or night before you sleep. For example for alphabet A you can write - 1) Air 2) Aeroplane 3) Apple 4) Amma 5) Ambulance and so on.
Hope you like these exercises and practice them too :)
