In my years of studying human behavior and the attainability of self-confidence, I have found that there’s one core value that confidence always always always comes back to: and that’s gratitude. 

Feelings of gratitude and feelings of confidence are directly related.

This is because the more grateful you are for all that you have, the more you realize ALL that you have to be grateful for… and more and more awesome things in your life become apparent.

The truth – everyone has countless reasons to be thankful. But sometimes it doesn’t feel that way. Maybe you’re having a bad day, a bad week, heck, even a bad year. But regardless of any of that, there is always something to be grateful for.

How to Make Gratitude a Habit

Here’s how to begin making gratitude a habit in your daily life, and how to start building your confidence as a result.

The first step to gratitude is awareness. Making an active choice to be grateful opens your eyes to all the wonderful stuff you currently have going on in your life. In fact, take a moment right now and grab a pen and a piece of paper (if your computer or some other digital device happens to be closer, then that’s fine too, but I strongly recommend pen and paper… you’ll see why in a moment). Write down everything that you are grateful for today. These things can be general (“I’m grateful for my family”) or incredibly specific (“The awesome HIIT workout I did this morning”). They can be deep reflections (“I’m grateful for a spouse who loves and supports me”), or more trivial (“I’m grateful for how kickass my butt looks in these new jeans! Go me!”) It doesn’t matter! The point is to write down as many things as possible that you are grateful for right now.

Once you finish your list – I find the stopping point comes pretty naturally – it’s really hard not to sit back and go, “Wow… I have a lot of be grateful for.” And sometimes just that is enough to dial up your gratitude meter and set your course for an awesome day.

A great way to take your gratitude practice to the next level is by starting (and committing to) a Gratitude Journal. I find that, by creating a journal, gratitude takes on a physical manifestation: This is my gratitude journal. This is where I write down everything that I’m grateful for. This journal is a manifestation of all the good in my life.

Plus… it’s freaking fun. My Gratitude Journal right now is a beautiful purple hardbound book with an elephant on the front that a very thoughtful coworker brought back for me after his trip to Thailand. I was grateful (and touched) that he thought to bring me back a gift, so it seemed a fitting repository for my daily gratitude lists.

My best days tend to happen when I start the morning with just 2-5 minutes (that’s all it takes!) of writing in my Gratitude Journal. And that’s not a coincidence. Gratitude frames your mind for a positive, productive and I-can-take-on-the-world-just-watch-me day.

Start your morning with a Gratitude List… and watch how your days begin to unfold more positively and profoundly as a result!

Need some help jump-starting your confidence journey? Take the #35DaysofConfidence Challenge!