By Henneke
How has 2019 been for you?
In the last few years, it’s become my habit to write a personal review at the end of the year.
And rather than ask myself what I’ve achieved, I like to consider what I’ve learned.
I’m less interested in achievements.
Perhaps because I never quite achieve in a year what I planned. Or perhaps because achievements are so fleeting. Achievements are often the outward signs of success, and, for me, they’re rarely a real measure of personal success and happiness.
As David Cain once wrote, “most accomplishments are invisible.”
So, what have I learned this year?
As I was pondering this question over the last few weeks, my mind turned to gratitude.
I used to feel a strong antipathy against practicing gratitude.
Of course, the principle of gratitude is beautiful. But, to my irreverent self, gratitude felt like misplaced or insincere piousness—as if we have to be grateful for the bad things that happen to us. I resisted that idea. Misfortune should be fought against.
A few years ago, as I was struggling to recover from a traumatic car crash, I realized you can’t always fight against misfortune, and I decided to give gratitude a try. I purchased The 5-Minute Journal and every morning, I wrote down 3 things I was grateful for. I’ve never been a journal writer, but I thought I could crack this simple exercise...READ MORE
