I know it sounds cliche, but gratitude really does change everything. There was a time in my own life before I became a mental health professional when I was so depressed that I could hardly get out of bed … I had a hard time even just waking up every day and functioning. I went from being a locally successful print journalist, wife and stepmother to being unemployed, living with family members, divorced and all alone. Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation where it felt like everything was over for you? Where it felt like you missed your shot to be successful and happy? Where it felt like if you were to rebuild your life/career/relationships you would be starting with absolutely nothing?

It occurred to me one day during this dark time that I needed to be grateful for what I had — even though that felt like nothing, I started by being grateful that I woke up that day and could breathe on my own. Then, I began to think of other things to be grateful for. Many years later, I was in a similar situation and realized that I needed a more structured way to practice gratitude to get myself out of my funk. That is when The Princess Guide to Gratitude featuring the 45-day guided gratitude journal was born. It’s been a tool that has helped me become more positive and optimistic and has helped my clients who have used it do the same.

I realized during that dark time in my life that the scripture in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 was true, “in every situation [no matter what the circumstances] be thankful and continually give thanks to God; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus,” (Amplified Bible). All the difficult and heartbreaking moments in my life were actually things to be grateful for and not mourn over because they taught me valuable lessons and actually saved me from a life of misery.

As I was telling a client recently, our problems and the negative situations in our lives seem so large that it’s all we can sometimes see. Like Dr. Wayne Dyer used to say, what we focus on expands. So, if we’re focused on the problem, we’re going to get more of it. However, if we focus on the good, the solutions or even the hope of a better future (hope is a building block of faith [Hebrews 11:1] and essential for manifesting what we want to see in our lives), we can bring more of that into our lives.

Being grateful for these endings and disappointments prepared me for the greatest blessings of my lifetime. I also believe that practicing gratitude for even the bad stuff has made me a better, more optimistic, caring person. It has changed my perspective on life, and I no longer see Ls as losses but now I view them as lessons that help me grow and refine what I want in life and how I want to show up for the people I encounter. Practicing what is in The Princess Guide to Gratitude set me up to experience the wonderful life and marriage I currently have.

It’s been my experience and personal opinion that starting off small is the key. So, today’s practice may seem like a no-brainer and waste of time, but starting with the basics will give us a firm foundation on which to build our gratitude practice.

Living in continual gratitude isn’t a natural state of being for some people. Like anything you exercise, it will become to feel more natural with repetitive practice. “Force gratitude until it becomes habitual,” wrote Melody Beattie in her book The Language of Letting Go. “Gratitude helps us stop trying to control outcomes. It is the key that unlocks positive energy in our life. It is the alchemy [transformation] that turns problems into blessings and the unexpected into gifts.”

So, read today’s affirmation out loud to yourself so your eyes can see it and your ears can hear it. Then, write your answers in the comments below to these prompts. Reading, hearing and writing are ways to cement information into the brain. Reading the daily affirmations out loud several times during the day will also help the information get into your heart so that you are no longer forcing gratitude, but you are genuinely grateful.

The highlight of my day was:

What good or positive thing happened to you today? If nothing stands out to you, then what one thing are you grateful didn’t go a lot worse?

Today, I am grateful for having a roof over my head.

Now, list two other things you’re grateful for.

• Thing No. 1:
• Thing No. 2:

Today’s gratitude practice is that easy. If you had any ah ha moments while reading this and want to share them with us, please feel free to do so in the comments along with your answers to the prompts.

Until we meet again tomorrow … I’m so grateful for you and honored that you’re sharing this experience with me!

Senée Seale Luchsinger is the visionary behind The Princess Guide, a transformative coaching experience for those seeking empowerment, deep personal growth and authentic connection. She is a therapeutic coach, book author, public speaker/singer and the 2024 Ms. U.S. Ambassador Queen with a platform of “Discovering your magnificence within — A journey of self-love.” She resides in her hometown of Dallas with her husband.

If you’d like to experience the full 45-day guided gratitude journal journey, “The Princess Guide to Gratitude” is available in instant eBook download and autographed paperback versions. For those who prefer not to read, “The Princess Guide to Change Your Life in 14 Days” audiobook is available for a two-week guided gratitude journal experience.