Thrive Global is partnering with Crest to talk about the power of gratitude, and the impact of making gratitude part of your daily routine — just like brushing your teeth. Chelsea Henriquez, a 26-year-old travel blogger, spoke with us about her gratitude practice and the things that make her smile.
As my life has become busier and crazier, having daily habits and routines has become more and more important. They help me find my rhythm and give me a sense of control over my day, whether I’m going to be traveling, writing, doing a photoshoot, having business meetings, or just hanging out with friends. One of the first things I do every morning is checking in with my community and my followers. I feel like that is the most important part of my job — connecting with people and making sure they feel seen and heard and that they know there is a human on the other side of the screen. After that, I get up, take a shower, wash my face, brush my teeth, and get on with my day. I even have routines within my routines: There’s one for washing my face, and one for brushing my teeth. My sister is a dental hygienist, so I’m very thorough. I can almost hear her saying, “Don’t forget your molars!”
I think social media can be such a positive place if you use it correctly. I feel like there is a general perception that social media is always detrimental to self-esteem, and there are aspects of it that aren’t great, but if you find your people, your community, it is the best thing since sliced bread. I wake up every morning and engage with these amazing women that I would never have known otherwise. It makes me smile every day when I read their messages.
In fact, I met one of my best friends, Jess, on Instagram — you can see a photo of us together on my account where I posted the #ISmileBecause challenge. We’re eating ice cream together in her hometown in the Netherlands. I just got back from visiting her for the second time.
I feel so thankful for the life that I’ve been given and the opportunities that I have. Sometimes I have to pinch myself, like, “Is this really happening?” But of course, there are days where everything just seems to go wrong. On those days, I make it a point to write down one positive thing that happened that day, something that I thought of or saw or experienced. It helps to bring me some perspective that there are things greater than the minutiae I might be tangled up in. I write my positive thought down on a little piece of paper, and I keep all of the papers together in a glass jar.
I also make it a point to talk about gratitude out loud, and to put it into the world however I can. I try to do it often with the people who follow my journey and have propelled me to where I am, my audience and my internet friends. My boyfriend brings me a lot of joy, and I just randomly tell him I’m thankful sometimes. I think we often assume people know we are grateful for them, but I like to materialize it. You’ll never regret telling someone how much they mean to you. It’s a pretty good habit to have.