Whenever I talk about practicing gratitude people often tell me that they love the idea but find it really hard to make the practice stick. Let me say that I HEAR YOU.

Forming habits is not easy. It takes time and focus, two things we don’t always have the energy for when life is busy and we’ve got a million other things going on. It’s also not easy to do when we’re not quite sure where to start with something new. When you don’t know how to start something you can be more inclined to doubt yourself, and that means you’re less likely to keep it up and form a habit.

Gratitude can be one of those things where it’s difficult to know where to start. How do you begin to think of what to be grateful for?! Do you go big ticket and give thanks for being alive, or can you be grateful for the cup of tea your colleague made you? Well, first up there is no right or wrong way to practice gratitude, you can be grateful for whatever the hell you want to be grateful for, what’s important is that you’re building the habit.

The next challenge when it comes to building a habit is making it part of your routine. We all have busy lives and crowded minds, finding the energy and focus to fit in one more thing (however much we know it’ll benefit us) can feel like an impossible task. We might stick to something for a day or two, but then things slip and we end up feeling bad because we feel like we’ve failed. Which is hard to deal with.

One thing that can be really helpful in these situations is having a little support. I’ve written before about asking someone in your life to help you change the narrative through how they ask you about your day (read about it here), and of course there’s always the option of working with a coach to build a gratitude practice, but those solutions are’t right for everyone. Sometimes you just need a little something to get you started, which is why I’ve put together ‘A Week of Gratitude’ a brand new FREE workbook that guides you through seven days of gratitude with prompts.

‘A Week of Gratitude’ is designed to kickstart your gratitude practice and show you that practicing gratitude doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming. It is simple and flexible. There’s just one prompt for each day and you can take as much or as little time as you want over completing it. I’ve included my top tips for starting a gratitude practice in the front of the workbook and I am always here for you to answer any questions you have or provide the encouragement you might need. Give it a go and let me know how you get on.