Forming a Gratitude Habit

Introduction to Gratitude

0:00Hello and welcome to the Art of Gratitude with me, Margaret Alvarez, creativity coach, artist, and art teacher, teaching people how to start a creative gratitude practice, using art, creativity, and mindfulness to channel stress and anxiety or any emotions that you may be feeling into a creative flow. So that's right, I'm back. It is episode nine. So excited to be here. So sorry it's been so long. I have been busy, busy, busy, but I am here for episode nine, forming a gratitude habit.

0:37That's right, folks, we're going to talk about forming a gratitude habit, actually implementing what it is that I am teaching. How do you start a gratitude practice? How do you start a habit? You know, how do you how do you continue with that habit is really the question. So the truth is, I actually didn't think in gratitude for a long time, I learned about gratitude, and it took a long time for me to kind of continuously practice gratitude for me to start thinking in gratitude.

1:19So it takes time, little by little, if you can practice it on a daily basis, then you will start to see things change. And it's important. And when I teach this, my fear is that people are going to come into my workshop, or learn something from me and say yes, when they're there, and then they leave and they go, Oh, how do I do this? How do I do this when I'm at home? Um, and so I make my gratitude workshops, very accessible, I make the materials really accessible. And we use really simple stuff. I mean, if you look at any of the videos I post or anything that I talk about, or when I am doing a workshop, it's basic, it's a Crayola watercolors and crayons, you know, just basic stuff that we used to use when we were kids,

2:15stencils, stencils, stencils, permanent markers, some scissors, glue, you know, like really, really basic stuff. But there's so much you can do with all of those things. And so the idea is that people are going to learn from me and then take that practice and continue it later. And the reality is that people don't tend to, you know, get out of their comfort zone. Outside of a class, I just I feel like people are going to leave me and go, Yes, I'm going to do this. I'm going to I'm going to I'm going to start practicing gratitude, I'm going to start getting creative and using my art journal. And then they just don't. And so my whole thing is like, I just want people to feel comfortable,

Atomic Habits Book

3:04really make the commitment really set the intention. So where's this all coming from? I started reading a book called atomic habits by James Clear. This book is amazing. It kind of it's so funny, you know, you put out this, I've been really, really sticking to my intentions this year. I don't know if I'm just holding myself accountable, because I've been talking about it publicly. And I'm like, sharing all my intentions online, like I'm doing all the work. And I'm like, I have to stick to this. So I don't know this year feels different. And then all of a sudden, this book pops up, and I buy it really randomly. And it is all about starting really, you know, starting, continuing keeping habits, right? Really taking those little little pieces, those little habits, that that all kind of sum up to this one goal. So doing something small every day, you know, and I think this fits perfectly with gratitude, because you can do gratitude, you know, in little bits and pieces.

4:04each day. And it feels, you know, you start to do little by little, and then you reach your goal. And maybe it's not like the overarching goal for gratitude is happiness, right? To feel good all the time. That's the goal. And so it's not really like this one big thing that you achieve, and then you can move on to something else. It's something that you continue. And the goal would be for you to think in gratitude without even thinking about it. For me, this happened took years of me practicing, but I now think in gratitude, like I literally every day, you know, in the best moments, I can say thank you in my head. And it's, it's, it's automatic. It's just a natural thing. And that's what I want people to understand is that, you know, it takes time. But once you start thinking in gratitude,

4:57you just become a happier person, you become more uplifted, I don't even, you know, I, the feeling is different. And you can see a difference between, you know, like when you before you did the gratitude, and then after, like the person that you've become. So this book really inspired this podcast, because I started reading it. And it started pointing out some really, you know, important information and things that that I could use to help teach people, you know, how to start a habit of gratitude.

5:32And so why are habits so important? It's something that I mean, we have habits that we do every day that we don't even think about brushing our teeth, and, you know, taking showers and getting dressed for work. And, you know, we all have our routines. And so this just would be another routine. You know, it would be something that you would have to do and, you know, really set the intention to do it and actually do it. And then I, you know, on top of that, add some creativity to it. And so that is something that I think, you know, can be difficult for people, especially if you're not an artist, you know, what am I going to do with all these materials, you know, and so that's what I try to teach people.

6:17This is why I connect my Instagram with this kind of lessons that I try to teach on here. I want people to have a visual, I want you to see the work I'm doing in my journal and maybe be inspired by it. I want you to see the video I just posted, because it's going to show you how to use x, y, and z, you know, I really just want people to connect with what I'm doing, and not be afraid, and not be afraid to, you know, like, go and buy the stuff, go and do the thing that you know, you saw me doing, and just try to

6:47try it, you know, it isn't just about the gratitude, it is about the creativity as well, because you're, you're, you're getting in the creative flow, you know, once you start working with some of these materials, as basic as they are, you know, you, you start to, your mind just starts to wander. And, you know, there's this magical thing that happens. And I see it in children, you know, I teach kids, I see it in children, they get so excited, they, you know, they lose themselves in the art, in the working with the materials. And adults do the same thing, like they really do, they get excited, they lose themselves in the material, they get, you know, they get inspired, and who doesn't like being inspired. And so this book is just really about taking little baby steps to to a bigger habit. So what if every day, you just wake up in the morning, you just say, you just

7:45think of one thing that you're grateful for, and you do that for, you know, every day. And you just you just, you know, write it down. So you have a record of what you're doing every day, you write down one thing that you're truly grateful for. And maybe you do it again, when you go to bed, and that's it, you do that for a month. It doesn't seem so hard if you add four more things to that list, right? So all of a sudden, you're doing five things in the morning, and five things at night. And then you just kind of and then slowly, it's like, well, might as well do 10, you know,

Building Gratitude Habits

8:15and then all of a sudden, you have this habit of, you know, writing 10 things in the morning and 10 things at night. And, and, you know, you start your day and you end your day that way, you know, it will change you, I promise it will. So the book talks a lot about how you can add things on top of things that you already do, you know, you pour a cup of coffee every morning, how about you pour a cup of coffee every morning, and you write those five things down, you know, you know, you exercise,

8:45every day, every day, maybe, you know, before you put on your exercise clothes, you you know, or your workout clothes, you you write down those five things. So you kind of stack it, and they call it stacking, habit stacking on top of something you already do. So it's like that reminder for you to do that. So genius, and very simple, you know, it's like, we all do things every day, you know, what if you add something on top of what you already do, so then you're reminded to do it. Heck yes, heck yes, I'll do that. I think that that is pretty genius, actually. And so did did I do that? Yes, I have. I've added some things to my to my habits. You have to and I love that this book mentions intentions, because I just had my last episode about in setting intentions. And they talk about how when you set an intention, you're more likely studies show to follow through.

9:43And so what I tell people is write a letter to yourself, when you start your gratitude art journal, write a letter to yourself, this journal is for gratitude. This journal is to focus on the things that I appreciate. You know, we all have choices, you know, we all have the ability to appreciate. Appreciate. And what a wonderful world would it be? You know, what a wonderful world it would be if people, if everybody carried a journal, and every time they experienced something beautiful, they wrote it down. And maybe, you know, anytime they had a break, instead of picking up their phone, they picked up their journal and doodled a little bit or did something I mean, come on, like, this is a really wonderful habit. And it's healthy. And I want everybody to do it. So you know, anyways,

10:33in your intention, write it, in this situation, I want people to think about those things. I want everybody to think about those things, I want people to see. Be their intention. Write it down. I will do this thing at this time, every day, you know, at this location, when you write it down, it solidifies it. It's like, okay, I did it. I wrote it down. It's there. Do that. Like, there's, I mean, it's a no brainer. Once you commit to something, you have it, then you start to do it. And then you start to see, and that's the thing. That is the main thing. This is why I teach this.

11:03You will start to see a change in your life. You will start to see things go your way. Everything changes when you are on this journey to appreciate everything in your life. It changes you. It changes everything. And I say this from my own personal, you know, this is what I've experienced. This is, you know, once I started to change my way of thinking and, you know, when I really

11:36started to implement the gratitude and understand the importance and how positive it was for me mentally to do this regularly, it changes you. Like you just become a different person. Things start happening. You know, you start to feel better. And so, you know, that's really what it's all about. So, be clear about what it is you're intending to do, right? When you write it down, when you set the intention, you need to be really clear about what you're

12:09doing, when you're doing it, how you're doing it. When you're clear about it, it makes you more successful. In the book, it says, many people think they lack motivation when what they really lack is clarity. Yeah, that I mean, there's so many gems in this book, I can't even tell you and I'm not done with it. I'm almost done with it. I'm at the end of it. They talk about environment. This is something that I teach. Also, when I when I teach a class, I want people to be motivated.

12:40And so, you know, I didn't have this book, and there's all these little tidbits that I'm taking from it that are, you know, wonderful. Another thing I talk about is environment, and they talk about environment and how important it is. It says, environment is the invisible hand that shapes human behavior. We make can make things really easy on ourselves. You know, when we, we set ourselves up for it, right? So like, if you're, you know, trying to eat healthier, you know, cutting pre cutting fruits

13:12and vegetables and having them in containers in the fridge, when you feel hungry, you go for that, you know, you're setting yourself up, it's your environment, you're setting it up, you know, have the fresh fruit out, that kind of thing. I'm just using that as an example. But what I teach people is, you should have your art supplies somewhere within reach, put them on your desk, but make a little, you know, caddy with all the things that are all of your art supplies on it and put your journal there and just have it for, you know, and then set up a time for yourself.

13:44Maybe you do the gratitude every day, you know, in the morning, you do your little gratitude list or, you know, even if you're saying, doing this in your head, but every Wednesday night, you're sitting at your desk and you're, you're actually actively creating pages, you know, with your art supplies that are based on, you know, your gratitude and really focusing on things. When you focus on things, especially if you're, if you're having, you know, if you're doing

14:14well, or if, if, even if, if something is challenging you, when you focus on the positive stuff and you journal and you, and you get it on paper and you're, you know, just focus, that stuff starts to grow. That stuff starts to, you know, really, it starts to blossom, you know, and it start and things start to change and you're like, man, you know, I was just thinking about this and all of a sudden this is happening. There's no coincidences. This is energy. We are putting it out there and gratitude is just energy and, and it's, it's good energy

14:50and it's the kind of energy that you want to have around. So I just want to end with, you know, if you haven't started with setting an intention for this practice, if you haven't started doing the gratitude regularly, then this is your time.

Setting Intentions for Practice

15:07Set the intention by writing it out, grab a journal, you know, have something that you can work in and just make that be your, the first page of your journal. If you can, if you've already started the journal, you can still set intentions. You can still be clear about what it is you want to do and make it a habit. And sometimes you do have to be reminded. I set timers, alarms, things, you know, to kind of remind me, oh, I need to do that thing

15:40that I said I was going to do. But then after a while, it becomes second nature. It becomes part of your day. If you start to see positive effects from this thing that you're doing, let's just say, you know, things start happening for you and you know, it is directly correlated with the fact that you have changed your whole attitude and you have implemented more of the appreciation in your life, the gratitude, everything's starting to flow.

16:11And all of a sudden things are happening for you. When you start seeing the results from doing the gratitude, you will be inspired to do more. You will be inspired to continue that practice. And then it will really become second nature. Trust me. I know I've done the legwork. I know that this works. And so that would be, that would be what I want you to do. This is your homework. Really set the intention, set the habit if you haven't already.

16:42I really appreciate you. Thank you so much for being here. I really love this book. So if you're looking for a good read, Atomic Habits by James Clear, it's pretty amazing.

16:54I just, I'm going to finish it up and take all the little tidbits to really help me teach people how to start this habit because, you know, it's always helpful to have something to kind of educate you on a specific subject. And this is something that I want people to be able to do. And I want people to see the results. You know, it's, it's about the gratitude. It's about the creativity, but it's also about really setting that intention and practicing it regularly to see the benefits.

17:26I know this because I've been doing it for 10 years. I've had, you know, 10 years of gratitude art journals, you know, and I go back and I read some of the stuff and, you know, I've grown a lot. That is the blessing of having a, you know, documenting your life in this journal. It's a blessing because you get to go back and you get to read and you get to see all the things. And so, um, yeah, I, I, I hope that this will help you. I appreciate you for being here and I will talk to you very soon.