If you’ve studied any philosophy in high school or college, you’ve no doubt heard of The Socratic Method. It is a form of inquiry (named after the classical Greek philosopher, Socrates) that is based upon asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been one to ask a lot of questions. I’m sure that this sometimes annoyed my parents and exasperated my teachers, but asking questions is how I learned to satisfy my curiosity about the many interesting things in the world around me. Once I was in college however; my academic advisor taught me the value of asking questions in order to gain understanding not just of the world around me, but also of the things that were going on inside of me. Not only did this help me to finally decide upon a major–it also helped me to become more connected to my inner being and more sure of the direction that I wanted my life to take.

Busyness. Why are we (and by we, I mean ME) so addicted to it?

Why do we feel like we have to constantly be busy as a way of proving our personal worth or justifying our right to exist?

We juggle careers, families, social obligations, volunteer work and a myriad of other things–all for the sake of feeling like we are “good enough” or in the hopes that others will take some kind of notice of our accomplishments. We feel as though being “busy” somehow proves just how important we are and we wear our exhaustion like it’s some kind of twisted badge of honor.

Why do we do this? What exactly do we get as a result of all of this busyness?

For me, the answer is exhaustion, burn out, frustration and overwhelm.

I am blessed to be a naturally high-energy person, and yet there are still times when I find myself wiped out (sometimes even to the point of physical illness) from going a few too many rounds on the hamster wheel of life. I’ve learned the hard way that burning the candle at both ends simply means that you burn out a whole lot faster. Fortunately, I’ve also learned (out of a desperate fight for self-preservation) that there are ways to combat this insidious culture of busyness. The sanity saving strategy that works best for me when things get a bit too chaotic is to step back and create space in six key areas of my life: my physical environment, my relationships, my emotional health, my thought-life, my finances and my spirituality.

By making the effort to create space in my life, I not only prevent the inevitable physical and emotional collapse that too much busyness precipitates; I also create an environment in which creativity, connection and serendipity can work together to bring about greater opportunities in my life. I am confident that the same will hold true for you.

The practice of gratitude as a tool for happiness is nothing new. Mainstream media has been touting its benefits for years (thank you Oprah!) and long term studies support gratitude’s effectiveness, suggesting that a positive, appreciative attitude contributes to greater success in all areas of personal well being. In fact, researchers at the University of California, San Diego have shown that an attitude of gratitude can help to ease chronic stress which leads to improved immune function and a reduction in unhealthy inflammation in the body.

Unfortunately, despite the many proven benefits of gratitude, it can still be a difficult mindset to sustain. So many of us are trained to notice what is broken, undone or lacking in our lives rather than appreciating our many blessings. We get so caught up in the yuck of life that we barely take the time to notice all of the good that we are blessed with.

This is why practicing an attitude of gratitude makes sense. Football players practice their sport to improve their odds of winning. Flute players practice their instrument so that they can produce the most beautiful music, kindergartners practice tying their shoes in order to stop tripping over their laces. The only way that we can become better at something is to practice it. The only way that gratitude will meet its full potential in our lives is if we practice it so that it, in time, becomes a habit.

When talking about gratitude, it is important to remember that gratitude isn’t a blindly optimistic approach in which the bad things in life are whitewashed or ignored. It’s more of a matter of choosing where to put our focus and attention. Clearly, pain and injustice exist in this world–no one is denying that, but when we focus instead on the positive aspects of life, we gain a feeling of well-being. Gratitude balances us and provides a sense of hopefulness. I also believe with all of my heart that the more I express gratitude for the positive things in my life, the universe answers by providing me with even more things to feel grateful for.

Don’t worry though-even if an attitude of gratitude isn’t your natural bent, you can still learn to cultivate more gratitude into your life and therefore experience its benefits…we all can. All it takes is a little (you guessed it) practice.

Seven FabYOUlous Steps for Cultivating an Attitude of Gratitude.