7 ways I practice gratitude to manage working mom stress -

Being working moms means we’re always trying balance it all – our jobs, our family responsibilities, and our personal lives.

The constant balancing act is tough, and it’s normal to get pretty stressed out from being pulled in all those different directions.

Finding ways to manage that stress can be difficult, but it’s a necessary part of maintaining good emotional wellbeing and quality of life.

If we don’t find ways to deal with stress and support our emotional and mental health, we can easily become burned out. And that’s not good for anyone.

We often think that we need to do big things like hour-long massages or vacations to a tropical resort for our emotional and mental wellbeing, but that’s not the case.

While those things can definitely help, small regular acts of wellness (micro-wellness moments) can be just as beneficial.

Practicing gratitude is one example of that.

The benefits of practicing gratitude

We hear a lot about how being grateful helps improve our wellbeing, but how?

Research has shown that practicing gratitude is connected to our psychological wellbeing and life-satisfaction, which are important components of our emotional and overall wellness.

Here’s how it can help.

We have improved resilience and cope better with stress

The practice of being grateful makes us more resilient, which means we become better at handling stress.

We become more forgiving and compassionate, and we don’t react as negatively to the unpredictability of life and motherhood.

Being able to cope with and manage our emotions positively is important for our own emotional health, and it also sets an example for our kids on how to deal with their feelings in a healthy way.

We feel less isolated

Working moms often deal with feelings of isolation and loneliness, as we become so occupied with our day-to-day tasks that we don’t have the time for hobbies or socializing.

This is especially true in the early stages of motherhood, where we often lose contact with our old social circles and enter the infamous “roommate phase” with our partners.

Expressing gratitude for the support and people we do have can help us to manage those feelings and feel less alone.

We feel more optimistic and have a more positive outlook on life

When we focus on the good, we become more optimistic.

Practicing gratitude helps us become more ‘glass-half-full’ kind of people.

Being grateful for what is going well in our lives leads to a better overall outlook on life and makes us feel more balanced.

We have improved self-esteem

Being grateful allows us to recognize the good in others and in the world. When we do that, we also recognize the good in ourselves.

We might feel unappreciated and overworked at times, but by practicing gratitude, we are better able to recognize our own value.

We have better physical health

On top of the mental and emotional benefits to practicing gratitude, there are also physical benefits.

Practicing gratitude helps calm our overstimulated nervous systems down and is associated with better sleep, lower blood pressure, and reduced heart rate.

7 ways I practice gratitude to manage working mom stress

When I am practicing gratitude, I am intentional about it.

There are many ways to be grateful, but it all boils down to the act of reflecting on the good things in our lives in a purposeful way.

In doing so, we focus less on the negative and start to notice more of the positive.

Here are 7 ways I practice gratitude.

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1. Reflecting on the little things

Practicing gratitude doesn’t have to be just about big achievements or accomplishments.

The little things can fill our lives with positivity too – that good cup of coffee I had this morning, a funny joke I heard on the radio on the way to work, my warm blanket at night, the hot shower I took before bed, my toddler going to sleep without a fuss.

These are all things in my life I reflect on as they happen and take a little moment to be thankful for.

2. Gratitude journaling

There is something about the act of writing that enhances our ability to reflect on things. When we write something down, we think about it more deeply than if it were just a passing thought.

In the mornings, I use a gratitude journal to write down 1-3 good things that I am grateful for. It’s usually things like my family, my home, my job, or a recent success or positive experience.

Doing this in the morning helps me see the bigger picture, puts me in a positive state of mind, and starts my day off the right way.

Sometimes I even use my phone to jot down my gratitude lists at work when I’m having a rough day, which helps put things into perspective and makes me forget about the day’s little annoyances.

Intelligent Change The Five Minute Journal (paid link)

The One-Minute Gratitude Journal (paid link)

3. Writing thank-you notes to people I’m grateful for

When we express gratitude towards people, we develop stronger connections with them and improve our social wellbeing.

In turn, that person will be motivated to build our relationships further and the cycle of positive support continues.

I’m generally much better with written words than spoken ones, so I often write notes of gratitude to people I care about – colleagues, friends, or my family, mostly.

Sometimes, I write the notes but never actually give them. Sometimes, I write them and leave them anonymously to be read later.

Notes don’t always have to be shared if we don’t want to share them. The point is that we’ve spent time thinking about the value someone adds to our lives, and our feelings of gratitude and happiness increase.

4. Practicing gratitude with the family at dinner

Practicing gratitude with our families deepens our connections with them and helps form positive habits with the ones we care about the most.

Practicing gratitude with my family has become somewhat of a dinner tradition.

We usually keep it simple, sharing 1 good thing that happened for the day or 1 thing we are grateful for.

Doing this with my son regularly teaches him that there is always something to appreciate, no matter the circumstance.

TableTopics Gratitude Question Card Game (paid link)

5. Listening to a guided gratitude meditation

Sometimes I get so tired of doing all the work for others that I don’t have the energy to do any for myself.

On days like this, I allow myself to be a little more passive and listen to a pre-recorded gratitude meditation online.

Even if I’m not doing the work myself, I still benefit from listening to these meditations and experience the positive emotions of gratitude.

6. Putting up a gratitude board at work

Practicing gratitude at work can help us manage work-related stress and make us less reactive to negative experiences.

A gratitude board at work helps remind everyone about all the good things at our jobs, improves morale, and contributes to a positive work environment.

The simplest idea is to give every staff member a post-it note, have them write what they are grateful for on the post-it, and then pin them on the board.

Keeping it in a place that everyone can see allows others to use it for inspiration when the day gets hard.

7. Community service

Volunteering and community service are great ways to promote feelings of gratitude.

When we do nice things for other people without expecting anything in return, we naturally feel good about ourselves and can better appreciate the things we have.

Community service and volunteering are ways to give back that the whole family can get in on – it teaches kids not only to be grateful for what they have, but also about the importance of contributing to society.

Every December, we sort through old toys and clothes as a family and donate the things we no longer use.

How often should we practice gratitude?

Gratitude has lots of benefits, but is it something I do every day? Absolutely not.

Some days I barely have time to sit down and eat a whole dinner, let alone dedicate time to practicing gratitude.

Some say we should do it daily to get the most benefit. Others say a few times a week is enough.

Realistically – we should do whatever suits our lifestyle.

The last thing we want is to add another task to the day if it’s going to feel like a chore. If we can only do it once a week, that’s okay – we are still doing something to manage stress and support our wellbeing.

As with anything new, it can feel a little awkward in the beginning, but it gets easier with practice.

Practicing gratitude can result in significant mental, physical, and emotional benefits to our wellbeing.

It’s an easy way for busy working moms to improve our overall wellness and help us manage our stress and emotional health.

There’s no gratitude quota we have to meet; we should just aim to include it when we can and not put too much pressure on ourselves.

When we begin to practice gratitude more consistently, it will turn into a habit. Eventually, we’ll be able to notice and be grateful for more of the many good things in our lives.

7 ways I practice gratitude to manage working mom stress