Life’s ups and downs can take their toll on your mental and physical health. It’s all too easy to lose perspective on what matters and forget how many good things you are blessed with.
I’ve always found that a healthy dose of gratitude helps me cope. Read on to learn the power of gratitude and how you can use it to feel better in as little as one minute per day.
What is Gratitude?
Gratitude is the ability to be thankful for the things and people in your life. No aspect of life is too small for appreciation. From the air you breathe to the people around you, there are countless things to be glad for each day. The ability to recognise these blessings has important benefits for your mental, emotional and physical health.
Five Benefits of Gratitude
There has been lots of research done on the impacts of gratitude on physical and mental health. Here are five ways in which practising gratitude may improve your life:
Practising gratitude helps you sleep better. Reflecting on the positive just before sleep lowers anxiety and stress levels, so you can fall asleep easier and sleep more soundly.
Practising gratitude protects against depression and anxiety. The ability to put life in perspective to manage stress can help improve mental health.
Practising gratitude improves your emotional health. Grateful people tend to be more optimistic, resilient, and happy. They are also likely to be more satisfied with their lives.
Practising gratitude improves your relationships. Being grateful is linked with the ability to express empathy and reduction in aggressive feelings. Expressing gratitude to those around you helps strengthen your social bonds and feel part of a community.
Practising gratitude may be good for your physical health. People who work on being grateful have better impulse control. This means they make better decisions about engaging in unhealthy behaviours such as binge eating and drinking.
Now that you’ve seen the positive impact gratitude can have on your health and happiness, here are a few quick and easy ways to practise it every day.
Five Easy Ways to Practise Gratitude Every Day
I can assure you that the more you practise, the easier it will become to notice all you have to be thankful for. Here are some ways to cultivate gratitude:
Keep a journal at your bedside to write down things you’re grateful for. Try to do this first thing in the morning, before you get caught up in the busyness of your day. The morning is a calm time to reflect before you get distracted by sensory input.
It doesn’t have to be a long entry. Writing down thoughts helps reinforce them in your mind. Plus, when you write down things you are thankful for, no matter how small, you have a nice list of positive things to look back on when you’re having a challenging day.
Just before going to sleep, focus on three good things that happened during the day. In bed, put away your phone and other distractions. Close your eyes, breathe deeply, and focus on something positive about your day. This is a powerful time to plant the seed of gratitude in your mind as you’re dropping off to sleep as your brain waves are in the receptive alpha stage. This relaxes your mind and improves the quality and duration of your sleep.
Use technology to practise gratitude. These days there’s an app for everything, and gratitude is no exception! If you are the type of person who likes an app to remind you to do something, this is a convenient way to form a habit of gratitude.
You can also join a supportive online community, such as Beyond the Sticky Blue Mat, for reminders and tips for practising gratitude every week.
Slow down and be mindful throughout your day. Taking time out from your busy day to be aware of your surroundings is a powerful way to cultivate gratitude for the simple things in life.
Notice the sound of birds chirping, the prettiness of a flower, or the interesting shape of a passing cloud. Mindfulness and gratitude go hand in hand to increase your happiness.
Express gratitude to another person. This can mean writing a note to someone you are thankful for, showing your appreciation when someone does a nice thing for you, or telling someone in your life what they mean to you.
Change your Attitude with Gratitude
Using these simple techniques to cultivate gratitude can make you happier and healthier.
If you need a nudge to get started, join me in Beyond the Sticky Blue Mat, take part in the Gratitude Challenge, free teachings, and coaching and get other helpful tips to lead a happier, more purposeful life.
Join us in November for a relaxing and rejuvenating mid-week Yoga retreat in Kenthurst and go deeper into your practice of gratitude and meditation, read more about the HIGH TIME FOR YOU TIME Retreat here.
Or join us in the beautiful isle of Bali in May 2024 for a culturally and spiritually rich Meditation and Yoga Retreat. Get some serious “YOU TIME” and get ready to push the pause button to change your life from STRESS to YES! Click here to read more.
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