Life is full of abundance. Don’t believe me; look at nature! It’s plentiful! 

There’s something powerful about being able to see your life through the lens of a glass half full, rather than half empty. Optimism and positivity can inspire you to see more good around you than there is ‘bad’. 

Sure, this approach takes discipline. 

Negativity can be addictive as well as draining. It’s easy to find yourself pulled into a downward spiral when you focus on what you don’t have - rather than what you do. 

So if you’re ready to transform your default mindset so that you can see ALL the hidden gifts in your life, this article is for you. 

Keep reading and discover FIVE different practices that will remind you how blessed you actually are.

1. Practice reflection

Reflection is the practice of looking back so that you can learn through the eyes of hindsight. 

Hindsight is powerful because it gives you 20/20 vision. When you know how things worked out, it’s easy to see what you could have done differently [or better] to create a different outcome. With hindsight, it’s easy to understand the actions you took to create the positive results you enjoyed.

These learnings are gifts - gifts that enhance your skills, your confidence, your plans, and your knowledge etc. 

Reflection allows you to extract the gifts that could otherwise sink under the radar and disappear in the flurry of life. 

What’s more, your gifts from reflection are gifts that keep on giving because they stop you from repeating avoidable mistakes, which can help you achieve your goals faster and easier. 

So decide to reflect regularly. It’s a powerful way to find the hidden gifts in your day.

2. Be open to seeing your gifts

Some gifts are obvious; for example, the coffee bought by your friend or the bouquet your partner brought home from work. 

Other gifts show up in disguise. In fact, they don’t even feel like gifts when you first receive them! For example, some gifts come in the form of significant challenges that rattle you. 

But it was thanks to those challenges that you made a decision or took an action that turned your life down a better path entirely. 

The secret is to look for ALL the gifts that come into your life. Yes! Even the ones that aren’t wrapped up in a bow. 

Choose to believe that life is always sending you the good stuff because energy flows in the direction of your attention.

3. Practice gratitude

Gratitude is one of the simplest, but most powerful ways to turn every day into a gift. 

It’s easy to practice gratitude. All you need to do is write down the things you’re grateful for along with reasons why. The secret for enjoying insane happiness through appreciation is to LOWER the bar [now that’s something we don’t often say!] 

Here’s why…

It’s easy to feel grateful for the big stuff - like a perfect launch, a big bonus, or a dream vacation. However, these big things don’t happen every day. 

If you only celebrate the big things, you’ll tune out the everyday miracles and magic that’s present in EVERY moment of your life. 

Such as an incredible sunset, the perfect field of flowers, a warm cup of coffee on a cold day, a book that lights you up, a conversation with a friend, a hug from a loved one… my list could go on. 

When you take a moment to acknowledge and appreciate these small things, life suddenly feels a lot more full. 

What’s more, because the things that you appreciate, appreciate, the more you focus on the good stuff, the more good things you’ll attract into your life. 

For gratitude ideas that lower the bar, download this free 101 gratitudes PDF.

4. Define your Win The Day score

The Win The Day score is another way to find and notice your gifts. You’ll find this feature on the Self Journal’s daily pages. 

To rate your day, you have to revisit your experiences and assess how ‘good’ they were. It’s a simple practice that’s a lot deeper than first meets the eye. 

To choose a rating, you have to reflect. You have to think about who you’ve been, what you did, and what you enjoyed. You have to think about how you felt and decide where on the spectrum between 1-10 your day sits. 

While we all have ‘bad’ days [and you’re definitely allowed to have them], a low rating is an invitation to think about how you can approach tomorrow differently.

As a bonus, a daily rating allows you to see a pattern over time - creating a visual reminder of how in love with your life you are.

5. Consciously create gifts

Finally, your ability to see gifts in your day is all a matter of perspective. 

What one person perceives as a gift could be someone else’s nightmare! 

The secret is that you get to CHOOSE your experience because you are the one in the driver’s seat of your life. For example, you get to decide how: 

• You spend your time - and whether that time will create gifts in the form of memories and achievement.
• High or low your gift bar sits.
• Alert you’ll be to the gifts that show up.  

It’s up to you :-) 

Your best self is always unfolding. Each day, you have the opportunity to move the needle on your life in a beautiful way. 

These five simple, but powerful practices are here to help you celebrate the micro-moments as you walk the path to your bigger goals. 

Use them to inspire yourself, cultivate a positive mindset, and feel unstoppable. 

You’ve got this.