Based on studies in positive psychology, gratitude is a personal attribute most strongly associated with good mental health.  Including gratitude in your daily routine gives you the power to make significant shifts in how you think, feel, and your overall ability to enjoy life. The power of gratitude is not only in these shifts but also in helping you feel empowered and understand that you are the one who is able to change your thinking instead of feeling that you are under the spell of these negative thoughts.

Feeling more empowered is especially relevant if you struggle with anxiety.  One of the common symptoms of anxiety is a sense of loss of control. People who struggle with anxiety report this frequently. It could be that their thoughts are overpowering them, they feel unable to prevent intrusive memories of traumatic events, or perhaps they may not be able to control some of their physical reactions to stress.

It's quite likely that you may have all of these feelings of loss of sense of control. The power of gratitude practice is that it can help you restore some of that sense of control. Even if you don't remember horrible traumatic events in your life, you may struggle with these symptoms.

You may wonder how you will feel grateful when you are struggling with these negative thoughts. And, you are right. You've been practicing these negative thoughts for so long, that they've become a part of you. You identify with them. But, just as you practiced these negative thoughts, you can also practice the thoughts that will help you develop gratitude, which is so beneficial in reducing anxiety and other issues. Where can you start? You can start with taming those negative thoughts.

Conquer power of negative thoughts by meditation

I would recommend practicing some kind of guided meditation. Meditation is helpful because it teaches you how to stop your thoughts. More precisely, meditation will help you separate yourself from these thoughts by becoming an active observer.   You will be guided to observe your thoughts, breathing, sensations in your body, etc. This kind of practice allows you a degree of separation from those obsessive negative thoughts that come up in your life regularly.

Appreciation of what's around you-gathering evidence for positive outlook

You can start a practice of focussing on beautiful things around you. This practice can further inspire you to declutter your living space and surround yourself with beautiful items in your home, just those that you truly cherish and appreciate. You can combine meditation and gratitude practice while enjoying the side of the beautiful picture in your home, pleasant smell of spices you are using while cooking, or the cheerful sound of birds in spring.

Furthermore, I would encourage you to go in nature and bathe your senses in smells, sounds, sights, or sensations of touch warmth of the sun contrasting coolness of the breeze on your skin. What can you experience there? A lot if you pay the attention. Blue skies, green grass and trees, fresh ocean or forest smell, and orchestras of sounds of various critters, such as birds, insects, and so on. What happens when you pay attention to these sensations? Your intrusive thoughts don't get a chance to be so loud anymore. When they come, now you have a choice of focusing on them or all of these beautiful sensations.

From this appreciation of simple things around you, you can cultivate gratitude. When you start on this path, it may be difficult because you are used to noticing what bothers you and what makes you feel anxious, but you can remember that you have the power of focusing on what makes you feel good. Remember above-described nature or beautiful home that you have the power to create.

This process of focusing on what you appreciate is similar to the games of associations. If you focus on a word pain, for example, you will notice that this makes you feel worse than before you focused on it. On the other hand, when I tell you to concentrate on puppies or kittens, you will feel softer. You may even have a smirk on your face remembering your little critter at home. What other words come to mind when I say puppies? These could be: fluffy, soft, cuddly, playful, sweet, cute, etc.

Similarly, you can choose to focus on positive aspects of your life. You can write down all the things you are grateful for. You can start from the beautiful creation mentioned above, continue with people in your life that have been there for you, and finish with all your skills, qualities, and abilities that help you through life.