Gratitude, baby. Our society seems very focused on "more", but it is very good for one's mental health to remember how great what we have now is.
There are studies that show daily practices of gratitude change the brain. If you can, write down three things you are grateful for every night before bed. No matter how bad your day was, it will put you in a better head space.
Now, of course, I don't routinely follow my own advice. But when I did, it had noticeable benefits that have persisted to this day.
You know, I actually started this practice recently (more or less - trying to keep track of what has made me happy and what I'm grateful for at night. I miss nights, but I keep at it), and as I wrote that comment I had a thought. I'm not sure I would have reflected so positively or even realized that I'd accomplished a dream of mine if I hadn't been 'practising gratitude' so to speak. It seems to me like it's an important thing to do and believe in. There's so much to be glad about that I've often missed.
Granted there's plenty to be unhappy about, but that's too easy and not rewarding at all. Anyone can plainly see what's bad. But to find the good, it's sort of a treasure hunt before bed. What was awesome today? As it turns out, plenty. Maybe even more was bad, but the good parts were still good, and that's enough most days.
I've sort of been doing something similar for a few years now where, each day I will document the highlight of my days.
It's been a really interesting experience and it's useful from not just a gratitude/appreciation perspective but also it's turned into an invaluable tool for keeping track of how time passes.
You know, when you can look back over the days and see even just one thing that you did each day, they each become a little more memorable.
It can also be handy sometimes when you have a mystery receipt, and you're trying to work out what you spent $12 on 3 weeks ago, on a random weeknight. "Oh yeah, that's the day I went out for ice-cream after work because I'd had a bad day", or whatever.
There are studies that show daily practices of gratitude change the brain. If you can, write down three things you are grateful for every night before bed. No matter how bad your day was, it will put you in a better head space.
Now, of course, I don't routinely follow my own advice. But when I did, it had noticeable benefits that have persisted to this day.