Cultivating a Mindset that Increases Joy and Gratitude
So how can clinicians help clients foster happy, meaningful lives when the world is constantly throwing chaos, challenges, and uncertainty their way? Jonah Paquette, PsyD., author of Happily Even After, shares five simple ways to help clients cultivate gratitude straight from his book.
5 Easy Ways to Cultivate Gratitude
- Three good things: Write down three things that went well each day. To make it extra powerful, try to never repeat an item on your list.
- Look how far you have come: Reflect on some of the more difficult or challenging times in life and how you managed to overcome them. Notice the contrast with your current circumstances and what this does to your perspective.
- Write a letter of thanks: Write and deliver a heartfelt letter of thanks to someone who has helped you along the way, but whom you have never properly thanked.
- Express thanks: At least once each day, go out of your way to thank someone who has done something you appreciate.
- Make a gratitude jar: At the end of each day, write down one thing you are thankful for that day. At the end of the week, or month if you prefer, empty the contents of your jar and relive all the sources of gratitude.
For more daily happiness exercises, check out Jonah Paquette’s Happily Even After: Daily Practices to Recover Joy After Hardship, Heartache, and Heartbreak.
In his new book, Happily Even After: Daily Practices to Recover Joy After Hardship, Heartache, and Heartbreak, Jonah Paquette, PsyD, offers a wealth of short, simple practices that lay the foundation for a more meaningful and joyful life. Learn how to seize opportunity during the storms of life to rethink how you live, how you love, and what you prioritize.
Jonah Paquette, PsyD, is a licensed clinical psychologist, speaker and author. He is the author of Real Happiness (PESI Publishing, 2015), a research-based self-help book in which he distills the key findings in the fields of happiness and offers user-friendly tools to achieve lasting well-being. His second book, The Happiness Toolbox (PESI Publishing, 2018), offers readers an array of easy-to-use handouts and exercises designed to enhance happiness in a lasting way. His latest book, Awestruck, explores the psychological and health benefits of awe and wonder.
Jonah is also the assistant regional training director for Kaiser Permanente in Northern California, where he helps to manage a large mental health training program spanning over 20 medical centers. In addition to his clinical work and writing, Jonah offers training and consultation to therapists and organizations on the promotion of well-being and regularly conducts professional workshops around the country. He is also a frequent media contributor, having been featured in print, online, and radio outlets. He has a passion for imparting the key findings related to happiness and wellbeing with a broader audience, and he is honored to share these with you.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Jonah Paquette has an employment relationship with The Clinic and receives compensation as a consultant and trainer. He receives royalties as a published author. Dr. Paquette receives a speaking honorarium, recording royalties, and book royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Jonah Paquette is a member of the American Psychological Association, the California Psychological Association, and the Marin County Psychological Association.
