Intro
In this post, we will be outlining the attitude of gratitude. Most people ask me, why even bother being grateful? Well, incorporating gratitude or having gratitude as a daily practice for your self-care has many positive attributes. Research shows a big return on investment if you keep an attitude of gratitude. Being grateful keeps you happy, facilitates contentment, and promotes physical health.
Every night before bed, I write down the three things I am grateful for. I also ask my clients to do the same. Being grateful strengthens relationships and encourages paying it forward.
What Do The Studies Show On Gratitude?
One study from the University of Pennsylvania found that people who wrote and delivered a heartfelt thank you letter felt happier for a whole month after they delivered their letter. Can you imagine something as small as writing a letter keeps you happier for a whole month?
The same researchers discovered that writing down three positive events daily for a week kept happiness levels high for up to six months.
I encourage you to try these things. There are the facts and stats that have been gained from actual people. Additionally, this study showed that happiness stuck well after the task.
Brain research shows that only six doses of feeling 20 seconds of gratitude daily, equivalent to three minutes, will enable your neurons to fire together around gratitude for two weeks. This study concluded that the connection gets stronger every time that behavior is acted on.
According to science, a deep sense of appreciation can change your brain in only two weeks. More studies have looked at other factors that gratitude promotes. But, these were such heartfelt numbers I had to share them with you to give a sense of what it’s like.
Repetition is Key For Gratitude
Grattidue can change your persepctive. It changes the brain as you develop the muscle to see good and positive things in your life. We’ve got to give it a try and have an exercise.
The key to this is repetition because your conscious brain can only take in and focus on stimuli. If you fill it up with all your positive thoughts, there is no time for the negative thoughts to creep in. Your mind has limited storage. It is about 0.5% of everything you take in, so you choose to have it filled with positive or negative.
What is Gratitude?
Gratitude can be defined as a feeling or expression of appreciation. Gratitude is the opposite of being discontent.
It is all about your perspective. If you have half of the sandwich but asked for a whole one, your focus may be on the half of the sandwich you did not receive.
The glass is half empty or half full, depending on your perception. You can choose to appreciate that you have the half sandwich instead. It’s important to communicate this to the universe, so you can have your glass full next time. You are choosing to focus on what you’re lacking. And it is not about what you’re lacking at all.
Tools for Gratitude
There are many tools that you can utilize in your daily practice to enhance that attitude of gratitude. The first tool is to have a gratitude journal and write in it daily, even when you don’t feel like it.
People have their gratitude journals mixed with their venting journals. Try to only have a journal for gratitude because this is a positive way for you to take fifteen minutes to reflect on your day.
Another tool is the question of reflection. Ask yourself, “what can I be grateful for today?” Do your experiment and see what kind of results you will get. The worst that can happen is you do not get the expected or liked results.
Conclusion
What is most important when you practice gratitude? The key is to feel the warmth in your heart and body. When you think of these things initially when you work on the above exercises. See if you can get that warmth in your heart and body when you say what you’re grateful for.
It can be small, like a cup of coffee, or something much larger. Just knowing and enjoying the moment will allow you to cherish these things. When reflecting, look at what made you feel and pause. It will be as if you know that worked for you. To check out this topic more in-depth, check out my video here.
