So that’s the first month of the new year done and dusted. As I read back on my daily gratitudes, I feel it is rest and people and dogs that I am truly grateful for. I spend most of my time either at home or at work, so the hubby, the dog, and my colleagues are the people I spend the most time with.

During the pandemic and lockdown I heard that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with, and I feel these days, I like that. I like the five people I spend the most time with.

And as I grow on this gratitude and wellbeing journey, I learn that I like myself too. I have spent the time and energy to pave the journey I want in life. Though the rewards aren’t immediate, I’ve been finding this month that the seeds I sowed a while ago are now starting to bear fruit – and I like this new me and I like this new life.

So, here is my gratitude journal for January:

1 New beginnings: grateful for new beginnings today. It’s a new year, so a fresh start, kind of like a switch it off and on again type feeling. Grateful for a new beginning and focussing on me and my mental health this year.

2 Rest: so grateful for rest and recuperation these past few days. Taking things ever so slowly and listening to my body, I’m reminded that diamonds are made under pressure but bread rises when it rests. Grateful to have these days to recharge.

3 Internet: grateful for the internet today. Having app and software issues charging the electric car and the internet gave me the answer to reset everything – and it worked! After two hours of frustration the car was fine.

4 Hubby: grateful for the hubby today. We talked about relationships, communication styles, breaking the cycle, and the future. Grateful for the hubby sharing a different perspective with me, opening my eyes, as well as listening to me too.

5 Colleagues: grateful for colleagues today. It was a quiet but nice day in the office today, with a tasty team lunch. It’s nice working with nice people who care about you.

6 Hubby: grateful for the hubby today, offering warm hugs and wise words during a stressful work day.

7 Christmas: grateful for Christmas today. The decorations are down and the Christmas cards have been put away – there’s no sign of Christmas anywhere in the house. So I’m grateful for the memories created in the recent Christmas just gone.

8 Sleep: grateful for sleep today. I slept in this morning and had a nice afternoon nap too. Grateful to rest, recuperate, and recharge.

9 A good book: grateful for a good book today, as I started reading again last night and fell asleep really quickly. I do like reading, but it really does depend on how good a book is as to whether I manage to actually keep reading!

10 Perspective: grateful for a little perspective today. Working long hours on difficult tasks and then I see Artemis snoozing and snoring away by my feet, and I remind myself that I work hard so that I can (at least try) to live the life I want comfortably with little worries. Grateful for this fur ball reminding me that work is not the be all and end all.

11 Music: grateful for music today, listening to some mellow background music as I work. I feel it actually does help me stay focused, so I’m grateful for music helping me plough through my tasks.

12 A few things today. Grateful for silence, as I sat in my car in traffic en route to work I was able to pause and reflect in silence preparing for the day ahead of me. Grateful for Artemis, who greeted me wagging – not only her tail – but half her body when I came through the door this evening. Grateful for having time to just sit on the couch this evening, which I feel I haven’t done since the Christmas break as work has been so busy.

13 Past me: grateful for past me today. Work has been epically chaotic, but past me had batch cooked dinners last weekend meaning that tonight was a tasty reheated dinner. Grateful to have one thing already done and dusted.

14 A couple of things today. Grateful for Artemis today, who was the star of the show in the obedience class and she was super warm and adorable on the sofa this evening. And grateful for The Lost City, which was an absolutely hilarious film that literally had me whaling in laughter – I haven’t laughed so hard watching a comedy in so long. Laughter is indeed a good medicine.

15 Rest: grateful for rest today. I slept in, had a leisurely morning walk with Artemis, and just chilled for the whole afternoon and evening – recharging.

16 Progress: grateful for progress today. Trying to action some mindful tips, such as doing one thing at a time and trying to have my mind where my feet are so I’m not thinking about other things and being distracted. Small progress is still progress.

17 Nurturing seeds: grateful for nurturing seeds today. Good news happening today and I feel absolutely elated! Super grateful for past me persevering and grateful that the seeds I’ve sown and nurtured before are finally bearing fruit. So so very grateful today.

18 A few things today. Grateful for alarms, getting me up in the morning considering it can be super hard doing so. Grateful for headlights and high beams, lighting the way for me when driving in the dark unlit country roads. Grateful for app reviews, as I have a new phone where the pre installed apps aren’t always great so I’ve been looking into – and subsequently – using reviewed apps. And grateful for breathing, as there were a few hairy incidents on the road today driving in unknown and unlit territory, so I’m grateful for breathing and breath work calming me down.

19 Colleagues: grateful for colleagues today. We had a welcome lunch for two new colleagues, progressed on some long standing projects, one colleague got me my first cup of mocha – just a fun and laughter filled day today in the office.

20 Opportunities: grateful for opportunities today. I’m reminded of where I was just over 2 years ago, where I was in a dark place, and I later learnt that rejection is redirection – I was redirected to somewhere brighter. And today I’m grateful for another opportunity, I’m hopeful that things can only get better.

21 A few things today. Grateful for Artemis, being the star of the obedience class today, she did great! Grateful for the trainer of said obedience class, who has seen the potential of Artemis since day 1. Grateful for knowing the route, as I’ve been driving to unknown places recently, whilst today I knew the route and knew where I was going.

22 Rest: grateful for rest today, sleeping in and chilling in the afternoon. Grateful to carve out time to recuperate and recharge.

23 Flow state: grateful for being in the flow state today. It’s the place where you are concentrating or working on something so much that you move into a flow state and it’s kind of zen-like. So that happened today, and it reminded me of when it used to happen in my old job – I’d just get lost in it, in a good way. Grateful to be reminded that I’m doing something that suits me and allows me to be in this flow state.

24 Warmth: grateful for warmth today. Walking the dog outside and it was so so cold! Then coming indoors and feeling the warmth from the heating was utter bliss, so I’m grateful for warmth and heating today.

25 Hubby: grateful for the hubby today, giving good hugs, cooking dinner, and sorting out technology for me. Work has been great (though it has been a lot lately), so I feel I need other aspects of my life to run smoothly, which is helped by having a helpful hubby.

26 Driving: grateful for driving today, as it was a new record on the shortest journey to work and shortest journey home – I couldn’t quite believe the sat nav! Grateful to find a new route and getting used to it.

27 Connections: grateful for connections today. We’ve been collecting groceries from our local supermarket and oftentimes it’s been the same person we’ve been speaking to. This person is soon to be leaving and he kindly informed us and also told us where he’s moving on to. I was quite surprised to be told this, because although we’ve seen and spoken to him for a few months now, I didn’t expect him to inform us of such things. So I’m grateful to have made a connection with someone who deemed it polite to let me know he was moving on.

28 A few things today. Grateful for brownies, as I baked some for the first time in ages and they were absolutely delicious. Grateful for friends coming over and visiting, it was nice catching up and karaoke’ing. And grateful for the TV show Extraordinary, which we’ve started watching as it has a lot of heart and sentiment that I haven’t seen in a TV show lately.

29 Hubby: grateful for the hubby today, cooking and washing up and dealing with life admin and chores while I was burning the midnight oil finishing work. Work has been super busy, essentially doing two jobs at the moment, so any help I can get to alleviated burdens in other areas of my life has been a huge help.

30 A few things today. Grateful for slightly warmer weather, meaning I’m not freezing in my car. Grateful for free sweet treats, as there were muffins in the office today. Grateful to be in the room where things happen, discussing things with the higher ups at work and contributing to the decision making process. Grateful for the acknowledgement of all the hard work I do at work, as people have noticed I’ve been spinning lots of plates.

31 A couple of things today. Grateful for enlightening conversations, learning about people and motivation, and really understanding the importance of de-stressing. Grateful for Artemis, who is adorable snoring away or snorting while trotting about the place – ah, it makes me laugh.