It’s that time of year when everyone tells us to be grateful, give thanks and show appreciation. Sometimes when we are feeling down, stressed, overwhelmed, or short on time this can feel daunting and forced. It is very hard to feel gratitude when negative emotions are running the show. However, allowing ourselves to find glimmers of hope, moments of joy, or simple appreciations can completely shift our attitude, emotional experience, and outlook.

New Years is a time for hope, excitement, change, reflection, and of course resolutions. Maybe we want to lose weight, eat healthier, exercise, quit smoking, be more honest, patient, or kind, find success in our careers and so on. It is easy to get wrapped up in the excitement of what change could look like without a clear plan of how to get there. 80% of these resolutions fail because even though we think we want change, we might not be ready to take the action needed.