Gratitude Helps You Feel Happy and Creative
Arree talks about “people angels” when he's teaching sometimes. They're people who've had a profound impact for good in your life. He has been one of mine. Every now and then, I even tell him so.
I'm grateful for the amazing opportunity that I have to work with our instructors and our students at Storyteller Academy. Therefore, I'm going to give away a book by an instructor (any book by any instructor) and a book by a student (any book by any student) to one lucky winner at the end of this post.
First, though, let's talk about gratitude and how it can help YOU.
Step 1: I want you to take a few minutes and think of some people in your life who make you feel grateful. Write down their names.
Some time ago, I talked about how morning journaling has helped me in a post about creative habits. In the following video, Marie Forleo talks about gratitude journaling: the benefits and how to do it in a way that will have you seeing results.
If you need to skip the video for some reason, Marie said that “the dividends are in the details.” You need to get specific. Instead of making a list of things you're grateful for, pick one thing or person and write five sentences about why you're grateful. And Marie backs that up with research and science. “It turns out that the group who wrote five sentences about one thing were more elated, excited, and alert than the other groups and less tired, sad, and lethargic.”
Doesn't that sound pretty awesome?
Step 2: Pick one of the people from your list in Step 1, and write five sentences about them.
Thinking grateful thoughts will give you a fleeting sense of peace or happiness, but writing those sentences will make the feeling last longer.
Step 3: If you really want to be happy, though, tell the other person and make them feel happy.
Making them feel happy and appreciated will make you feel all warm and fuzzy in a more lasting way. You can't express real love and gratitude for someone else without feeling real love and gratitude back, even if they don't say anything. You're going to feel it when you act.
Now that we're feeling love and gratitude, I want to share this beautiful TED Talk on gratitude from Louie Schwartzberg and let you find your own creative inspiration.
I'm hoping that you really will tell your people angels why you're grateful for them. You'll probably surprise them.
Book Giveaway!
I'm giving away a book by an instructor (any book written and/or illustrated by any instructor found here) and a book by a student (any book by any student) to one lucky winner. If you have thoughts on people angels, journaling, and/or gratitude, please share in the comments for an entry!
If you share this post on social media, you can earn an entry that way or an additional entry. In fact, you can even earn a third entry by sharing our FREE Black Friday Children's Book Bootcamp on social media. (If you have more than one entry, just comment on your original comment to let me know you shared.) This giveaway closes at midnight on November 23. I'm going to drop some book covers below, but there are hundreds of books you can choose from.
Blog Contributors
Myrna Foster writes and edits content for Storyteller Academy and the WriteRiders Newsletter for SCBWI Nevada. She has spent a lot of time teaching and coaching children, including five years as a preschool teacher. She's also worked as a journalist, and Highlights High Five has published six of her poems.
Arree Chung is an author/illustrator and the founder of Storyteller Academy. Arree’s Ninja! series has received starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal. Kirkus also gave a starred review to Mixed, which recently won the FCGB award.
Today Arree lives a creative life, making stories for children. Arree spends most of his time making picture books, writing middle grade novels, and sharing his love for art, design, and storytelling with kids and dreamers everywhere.