Welcome. You have arrived. By now you’ve prepped your body, mind and heart, you have received your food and juice and are all set to go. You’ve thought about your reasons for doing a cleanse and maybe started making lists of changes you plan to make and goals you intend to accomplish. Starting this morning, every single thing we do, each day, will be working toward those goals. So let’s get started.

Make your gratitude list

The first thing to do each morning during the program is write down or meditate on everything for which you’re grateful. I like to do this first thing when I wake up while still lying in bed. It can be your children, your dog, your health, a great job, friends that make you laugh—anything that makes you smile and feel happy. Focus on the positive things in your life and remind yourself that even when you are challenged, good things are still around you. Think about what they are and practice feeling appreciative of them. If you find yourself in a negative thought spiral, practice focusing on your gratitude as a method for arriving at this place of self-improvement or your commitment to making things better. It’s okay if what you’re grateful for is simply your decision to do this cleanse. Share with us one thing you are grateful for today on our private Facebook group.

The goal here is to feel the gratitude. You should always be able to find something worth smiling about, something for which you feel glad in your heart. The reason we do this is not only because it’s a wonderful way to start the day—it also sets the tone and establishes a positive outlook for the day ahead. Additionally, scientific studies have shown that the power of positive thinking can affect our overall health and mental wellbeing.* So what are you grateful for?

*Mind-Body Medicine: Stress and Its Impact on Overall Health and Longevity http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2005.tb06153.x/full