Shift in Perspective: Hypothesis

If I take time to mindfully acknowledge the things in my life for which I am thankful, instead of focusing my energy on the negative things, I will experience a shift in perspective and increase my sense of wellbeing.

To do this, I engaged in a gratitude practice. I kept a journal in my nightstand, and every night before going to sleep I wrote down three things I was grateful for. I left the parameters of my experiment open so my list could include people, places, animals, foods, stars, the weather, etc. Nothing was off-limits for the gratitude list. If I felt moved enough or touched enough to include the same item on the list more than one day per week, or even every day, I could. If the list ended up being all foods or all flowers, that was fine too. No judgment. No restrictions.