What exactly is “gratitude”?
Gratitude can be described as feeling of thankfulness that elicits warm, positive emotions such as love, happiness, and joy. It is generally considered a disposition or characteristic that allows an individual to perceive and appreciate the positive and meaningful aspects of life. But why is it important?
Why gratitude?
Grateful people are physically, mentally, and emotionally healthier people. Research suggests that practicing gratitude improves both mental/emotional health as well as physical. It has the ability to make people happier, improve relationships, boost self-esteem and potentially even decrease depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation.
Practicing gratitude slows the effects of neurodegeneration and leads to decreased inflammation and lower blood pressure. It may even slow cognitive deterioration as we age. Research recognizes that practicing gratitude can improve sleep and immunity as well as reduce chronic pain and risk of disease.
Studies have shown that when it comes to gratitude and appreciation, participants who felt grateful showed a reduction in the level of cortisol, the stress hormone, but an elevation of other hormones which dilate the blood vessels, reduces blood pressure, and protects your heart. They had stronger cardiac functioning and were more resilient to setbacks, emotional upheavals, and negative experiences. According to many studies, grateful people eat healthier, move their bodies more, and are less likely to abuse alcohol or other drugs.
Regularly practicing gratitude also positively influences our interpretive perception, mood, and mental/emotional well being. Expressing gratitude can positively change your brain by elevating levels of dopamine and serotonin in the brain. These are “feel good” neurotransmitters causing us to experience an uplifted mood, pleasure, happiness, contentment, and well being. Over the years, studies have established that practicing gratitude allows us to handle stress better.
Additionally, gratitude can positively affect the lives of those around you. When we bring our awareness to our gratitude, research shows that it often results in the side effect of being more compassionate and generous towards others. We become more optimistic, forgiving, and more willing to offer support to others. Then our outward expressions and actions create positive experiences shared between individuals. This can initiate a ripple effect. When we show someone we appreciate them, we are encouraging them to respond in nice ways towards others. This triggers a release of oxytocin, the neurotransmitter responsible for personal bonding. Oxytocin deepens our relationships and helps us feel more connected to others. It also supports us in building a network of family and friends, which results in a longer and healthier life (as previously discussed in my blog post The Power of Relationships: Impacting Your Life, Health, and Success.)
So, how do we become more grateful?
Our brain is wired for our survival, and therefore, has a default setting to problem-solve or be on alert for negative or dangerous threats rather than look for things to appreciate. So, we must consciously work to override this design to experience the benefits that gratitude can provide. Each day, as we practice gratitude, we help the neural pathways in our brain to strengthen and ultimately create a permanent grateful, positive nature within ourselves. Therefore, creating an intentional gratitude practice is key.
Beginning a Gratitude Practice
Begin to redirect your default settings by intentionally focusing on the positivity around you. Make it a personal challenge to find a minimum of three things that you are grateful for each and every day.
Track your gratitude. Keep a gratitude journal or post your daily gratitude in my ELEVATION Facebook Community. Whichever you choose, the idea is to create an intentional space of expression or place to house your grateful collection.
Having a gratitude buddy may help keep you accountable and committed to this beneficial practice until gratitude becomes your new default setting.
Elevate Your Gratitude Practice
Begin by thinking of some thing you are grateful for
Go deeper, and attach the thing to a person you are thankful for
Connect the thought with an action of thanks or celebration (Example: You are thankful for your morning cup of coffee —> Think about how thankful you are for the people at the coffee shop who brew and carefully create your favorite morning drink. —> Thank the barista or team of employees at the coffee shop with a tip, thank you card, or simply by making a point of making eye contact and telling them how much what they do helps you to start your day with a smile. )
Now you are on your way to beginning an infectious gratitude culture that creates a positive impact reaching beyond just yourself.
Stumped on Gratitude ideas? Here’s some for you to get your gratitude mindset shift started.
Start with YOU. Identify qualities, characteristics, skills, or talents about yourself that you are grateful for. This may feel uncomfortable at first, but with practice it will become easier, leading to improved self-respect, self love, and self confidence. With this elevated self image and confidence, it makes it easier for us to move through the world from an intention of kindness, further cultivating a culture of grace and gratitude.
Other People. Think of the people in your life that you care about, that care about you, motivate you, inspire you, hold you accountable, hold you responsible, encourage you to continue to learn, grow, and pursue your goals. Think about people that serve as an example to you of who you aspire to become like. People who have taught you things. People who have supported you, helped you, let you vent, listen, laugh with, are patient with you, etc.
Your Relationships. This could be your marriage or intimate relationship, supportive friendships, unbreakable bond with your siblings or parents, deeply unconditional love for your kids, your mentorship and commradorie with your coworkers or teammates.
Easily Overlooked Things. Consider the things that you might typically take for granted such as easy access to clean water, hot water, food, shelter, a paycheck, acts of service like your kids doing their chores, your husband fixing the car, your neighbor bringing over extra vegetables from their garden, your co-worker offer to work late for you to pick up your kids, someone holding the door open for you, seeing some beautiful flowers.
Acts of Kindness. This could be someone giving you a compliment, a stranger smiling and saying hello, the person in line in front of you secretly buying your coffee, the traffic cop deciding to let you off with a warning, a friend calling to check in on you.
Conveniences. Your coffee pot with the ability to schedule your desired brew time. Your alarm clock for getting you up and on the gym your washer and dryer (not having to do this chore by hand), the sprinkler system helping you to keep your lawn looking green and beautiful, driving your own car to work, having a remote control. (I am old enough to remember when they didn't exist.)
Comforts. Warm clothes, snuggly socks, fuzzy hats, comfy slippers, a favorite pair of pajamas, that amazing mattress, pillow, smooth sheets, fluffy bath mat when you step out of the bath, heated seats in your car in the winter, air conditioning in the summer.
Institutions and/or organizations. This could be the organization you donate to, the veterinarian office you take your beloved pets to, the company you work at, the services (and service members) within your community such as the police department, fire department, local medical facilities, etc.
Things that make you happy. Maybe its your beautifully decorated office space, your cozy bedroom, your favorite nature path, your favorite coffee shop, the gift from your friend, the quality time spent with those you care about, travel experiences, adventures, photo albums, etc.
Accomplishments. Getting a promotion, finally purchasing that car you’ve been wanting, meeting your fitness goals, successfully getting your kids to bed on time and without complications, etc.
Just remember that there are countless things, big and small, that are worth recognizing and celebrating. Your job is to become a prolific hunter of them. When you do, I promise you, it will elevate your life.
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