We created the Daily Five Exercise to help train our minds to be more optimistic and more grateful, and to live a happier life. Apply this simple exercise to your life each day, and you will also see profound changes.

The Daily Five Exercise and How it Will Change Your Life

Do this simple mental exercise at the end of each day - it will change your life forever.

We can train our minds to be more optimistic and to be more grateful. A degree of optimism is vital for survival and success. No matter what it is we are trying to accomplish in life.

Here’s a simple exercise that will cultivate the habit of training your mind to be more positive, instantly improve your mood, and give you more appreciation for the good things in life.

The Daily 5:

And the end of each day, think of five things that went well for you that day, five good things that happened to you that day, or five things you have to be grateful for. Do not underestimate the power of this exercise!

We’ve done this exercise for years, and there has not been one single day that we could not come up with five things to be grateful for or five good things that happened that particular day.

Even on the worst of days, when Murphy’s Law seems to be working overtime, and everything seems to be going against you, you can still find five things that went well for you that day or five things to be grateful for.

Here are five examples:

1. I was born in the greatest country on earth (this is subjective, but we tend to be thankful for being born in the United States of America).

2. I was disciplined with my diet today – I avoided eating the snack food that is my weakness.

3. I am beginning to see results from my fitness program – I could run the mile more easily.

4. My spouse and I found a creative way of solving our problem, rather than arguing like we usually do.

5. My boss was impressed with my idea of how to cut down on excess costs at the plant.

We’ll say it again – there will not be a day that you could not come up with five things that you have to be grateful for, or five things that went your way that day. Even on the worst of days. If you cannot come up with five things, you are not trying hard enough and are probably feeling sorry for yourself on that particular day.

Here’s an interesting thing. After you get into the habit of doing this exercise on a daily basis, something interesting will happen to you at times: After you think of five things to be grateful for, or five things that went well for you that day, other good things you have to be grateful for will suddenly pop into your mind. And you’ll think, “How could I have forgotten that one?”

When you do this exercise on a daily basis, you will be training your mind to appreciate the good. At times when you do this exercise, you will be embarrassed that you were not more appreciative for all that you have to be thankful for.

So why is this exercise so important?

1. It trains your mind to be more positive. A positive mind gets more results than a negative mind. We tend to focus on the negative in life. And being negative can turn into a habit pattern if repeated often enough. But we can also develop the habit of being positive and grateful. This exercise reminds you that there is good in the Universe, and that good things happen to you - daily.

2. It improves your mood and makes life more enjoyable.

3. It puts you in a better state of mind. And your state of mind is everything in life.

Even on the worst of days, force yourself to do this exercise. It will only take a minute.

You can focus on what didn’t go well that day (and you’ll find it) or you can focus on what did go right that day (and you’ll find it). There is good and bad in each day. Missed opportunities, problems, setbacks, adversities – it’s all there. But, so are beauty, lucky breaks, unexpected fortune, resolution of problems, and joy. The only question is, which will you focus on. You have nothing to gain by focusing on the negative.

This exercise is simple, but it is not Mickey Mouse. It can have very tangible results on your life if done on a regular basis. And it only takes a minute or two each day. Try it, you’ll like it.

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