It's good to give yourself a pep talk every once in a while. We tend to forget how good we have it when the going is good, and it's easy to hone in on the negative when yin changes to yang. Why not practice some gratitude on occasion - it may just turn into a habit. Gratitude is the door to contentment, as they say, and it is a timely thing to practice when spirits are high during the holiday season (just keep it going when January rolls around).

Listing things you are grateful for is one thing. A 3-step practice I like even better is one Christiane Northrup proposes in her book Goddesses Never Age: Brag, be grateful, and let yourself desire something.

· Think of an accomplishment you can be proud of

· Think of something you can be grateful for

· Think of something to wish for

A woman in my yoga class this morning smiled when she came in, then explained that she just found a piece of paper in her pocket with five things she was grateful for, and which she wrote down when she did the exercise a while ago. Why not write your thoughts up and collect them in a jar? Or distribute them among some coat pockets to find them later and smile? Or ask the three questions above at the dinner table? Or when you sit together with some friends?