When you are looking at various ways to improve your health, gratitude may have been one thing that did not cross your mind. A regular practice of gratitude not only boosts our happiness and mental health but can also impact our physical health as well. Choosing to focus our energies on positive emotion on being grateful for what we have distracts us from the negative feelings of what we don’t.
What Is Gratitude?
The definition of gratitude is the quality of being grateful. Being thankful involves two parts, a readiness to show appreciation for kindness and then to return that kindness.
What Are The Misconceptions of Gratitude?
There’s many misconceptions about gratitude. Some may believe that practicing means saying thank you after someone performs a good deed. Yes, saying thank you is a good way to show gratitude but to practice gratitude goes a little deeper than that. According to scientist from Yale, there are 3 things you can do to deepen you gratitude practice:
- Pay Attention to Good Things
- Keep a Gratitude Journal
- Connect with Others
Pay Attention To Good Things
Gratitude starts by noticing things to be grateful for in your life. Grateful moments happen all the time if you are looking for them. Did someone let you out into traffic and you made it to work on time? Noticing their act of kindness and being thankful for it is gratitude. Instead of hoping things go your way and being upset when they don’t, gratitude involves being thankful for the many times they do.
Keep A Gratitude Journal
Keeping a gratitude journal helps you focus on the reasons in your life to be thankful. Reflecting on the kindness your see helps build Reflecting on the kindness your see helps build your awareness of how many occasions there are to be grateful. When you’re upset or things aren’t going well, reviewing your gratitude journal enables you to focus on positive experiences instead of negative outcomes.
My spiritual journey began once I started keeping a gratitude journal. I got the idea from a book titled The Magic by Rhonda Byrne. In her book, she encourages the reader to start a gratitude journal to unfold a new chapter in their lives and this practice did affect me in a positive way.
Connect With Others
As you become more aware of the kindness surrounding you, you will begin to see the connection gratitude and kindness have with other people. Much of what we are grateful for comes from how we are treated by others. Sharing that connection boosts your desire to be kind.
7 Surprising Health Benefits Of Gratitude
When you are looking at various ways to improve your health, gratitude may have been one thing that did not cross your mind. Let’s look at 7 surprising health benefits that gratitude can help you with starting now.
1. Creates Long Term Happiness
We all want to be happy. Yet most of us go for short-term happiness. You may be doing this yourself when you grab a loaded pizza after a tough day. The pizza tastes great and puts a smile on your face. Short- term happiness will not improve your life the way that long-term will. When you practice gratitude daily, your daily happiness bank fills up and overflows. This leads to other emotions improving as well.
2. Helps With Depression
In terms of improving other areas of your life, gratitude will help tone down your depression. Always seek the advice of a doctor regarding depression in case you are in need of medical assistance. Any worthwhile doctor will tell you that no matter what, feeling gratitude is something that everyone should do. Understand that building up your gratitude will not cure your depression; it is an assistant to lowering your depression, the same way that physical exercise works to diminish it.
3. Helps You Fall Asleep
For many people, sleep is difficult. There are many reasons for this, including stress and depression. Thinking about what you are grateful for in life before you sleep is a natural way to drift off. Gratitude lowers your blood pressure and takes your overactive mind to a calmer place. Try saying a few gratitude affirmations before you sleep and see what a difference it will make.
4. Helps With Mindfulness
Do you tend to overeat? There could be any number of reasons why you have more than one helping of food at dinner. Try thinking about being grateful for nourishing food before you pick up the utensils. Put your mind in a calm place and as you begin to eat, be mindful of each bite. When you eat in front of the television, you are not thinking about the food and maybe overeating. It is better to sit at the dinner table and use gratitude before and after you eat. You can also use a gratitude hack to
help yourself. When you notice you are overeating, stop for a moment and grab your gratitude journal. Jot down what you are grateful for today. Before returning to the table, your mind will be neutral, and you can shift it to mindful eating.
5. Strengthens Relationships
Relationships can be improved when you practice the idea of gratitude. Instead of stressing about what your significant other is spending money on or what you consider to be a lack of attention, move your mind to gratitude. When you think of why you are grateful for your significant other, it will soften how you speak to them. As you practice relationship gratitude, begin explaining to your partner what you are doing and why. Get them involved and turn it into a loving way of communicating.
6. Increase Patience
Do you make snap decisions or do impulse buying? These are the bad habits of an overactive mind. Practicing gratitude for what you have slows down that “I need it now or why is the task I asked someone to do, finished yet? Patience will serve you well, and you will have a more positive mindset by practicing gratitude. This will slow down your overactive mind, similar to doing yoga practice.
7. Promotes Self-Care
You only have one body, which serves you. No matter what shape you are currently in, you need to be grateful for that body. When you practice daily gratitude, it improves so many areas of your life, including doing self-care. Being grateful for your body means you will start to take better care of it, inside and out. You will have better hygiene and start shaping up and doing things like essential oil baths for your mind, body, and spirit.
Conclusion
In my opinion, practicing gratitude is a quick way to feel good, change your perspective on current negative situations, and can help improve your health and well being. If this article resonates with you, I encourage you to give it a try and feel free to leave a comment on your experiences with practicing gratitude.
