Lesson 8: Gratitude
Gratitude: Your Complete Guide to Living a Fulfilled, Positive Life
Gratitude.
Often, it’s that full and happy feeling we get when things go really well in our lives.
It comes with a sense of peace and maybe with an idea that we finally did something to deserve the gift we’ve been given.
We’ve probably all experienced that kind of gratitude at some point in our life. But what if it could mean more than that for you?
What if gratitude became a perpetual, daily feeling for not just the big things?
There’s evidence to suggest that being grateful, despite your circumstances can improve every single area of your life, and actually brings in more things to be grateful for.
The universe listens when you express it, and responds by providing you with more things to be grateful for. That’s the magic of gratitude. And in this article, we’ll help you discover how to find it more often.
You’ll learn all about the ways in which it improves your life, and some practices and techniques to become (even) more grateful.
What will you learn?
What is gratitude?
It’s easy to think gratitude is simply saying “thank you,” but in reality it means so much more than just that.
To understand this, try this exercise:
Think of the most surprising and best gift you’ve ever received. Perhaps the gift is a material one, or even something like the birth of your child. Now try to recall the associated, all-encompassing feeling that came along with that. Remember how “thank you” just didn’t feel strong enough to express your gratitude.
That’s a pretty intense example, but remembering a moment like that illuminates some things that are important to associate with being grateful.
What does gratitude mean?
- Gratitude outshines all other emotions.
When you feel it, it often overpowers other feelings. Gratitude shines brighter. - Humility accompanies gratitude.
Arrogance and pride are impossible feelings to have when you experience gratitude. - It’s contagious.
When you feel gratitude for one thing in your life, it tends to overflow into other parts of your life, even places that you previously thought weren’t ‘good enough.’
To experience more gratitude, realize that it’s about more than just saying “thank you.”
Of course, the feeling aren’t always that intense, but for just a moment, experiencing it, even in its simplest form, can amplify positivity in your life.
Our society places a lot of importance on politeness, and that’s definitely not a bad thing.
But it can be confusing, because we make a habit of saying “thank you” even when we aren’t grateful.
Let’s not allow that habit to over-shine your ability to feel the power of gratitude.
In this article and you’ll learn about the ways in which gratitude can impact your life and to experience it as all-encompassing, peaceful and ever growing.
4 Benefits of gratitude
Now that you understand what gratitude really is, it’s easy to see how powerful that emotion could be and how many areas of your life it can impact.
There’s really no limit to that impact, but luckily, scientists and psychologists have spent a lot of time studying the effects.
Entire books are written on the subject of the benefits.
Let’s cover some positive impacts on four major areas of your life: relationships, career and life goals, physical health, and mental health:
1. Relationships
Relationships play an important role in every person’s life.
The support systems we build around us say a lot about our attitudes and perspectives. We attract like minded people into our support circles, so experiencing gratitude positively impacts our relationships.
In one study, researchers found that gratitude not only attracts positive people into your life, it actually fosters the support you receive from others.
This, in turn, makes it easier to handle stressful situations.
In other words, when you practice it more, those closest to you are better equipped to provide support in tough times.
It’s no surprise that another study confirmed that encouraging gratitude in others strengthens that bond.
When someone reaches out to you in a time of need, the best support is to help them refocus their perspective towards being grateful. The study revealed that this action makes them feel more loved.
2. Career and Life Goals
Our relationships are the foundation for the path that we walk on. They form the support system we build to keep us standing on two feet.
Our career and life goals are the direction that path leads toward. We need others to help us along that path, but ultimately, we choose which direction to walk in. So, how does gratitude help us move forward down that road?
How can it help you reach your career and life goals?
One way gratitude can help you further your goals is by shifting your perspective to realize how far you’ve already come.
Focusing too much on the areas of your life in need of improvement, can cast a shadow on your successes.
Give yourself credit for tackling and conquering all obstacles along the way.
Shifting that perspective is magical.
Where you once dreaded the future and how far you have to go to reach your goal, you now feel empowered and excited about how capable you are.
That’s the magic of gratitude – it totally transforms your vision.
If you’re feeling stuck or far-behind in your life goals, try refocusing your vision on the past instead of the future.
See the challenges you’ve overcome and the incredible qualities you posses that led you here.
Once you truly see those things, watch how your motivation to continue increases.
3. Physical Health
Everything we’ve discussed so far might seem a little abstract. Being grateful will improve your relationships and your ability to reach your life goals, but sometimes those things don’t feel very concrete to us.
So let’s talk about the impact gratitude can have on your physical health.
In a very direct sense, it impacts your physical health by improving major functions in your body like lowering blood pressure, reducing cholesterol, improving your sleep and even helping you live longer.
It’s hard to say exactly how these functions operate, but we know one thing for certain – scientific studies have proven that gratitude works like a great medicine.
Another way it can impact your health is by changing your attitude and motivating you to make healthier choices. Like we discussed earlier, it changes your perspective and helps you see what you’re capable of and how far you’ve come.
When you apply this to exercise or eating healthy, just imagine the incredible positive impacts it can have on your health.
4. Mental Health
Finally, the biggest way gratitude affects your life is by improving your mental health.
Of course, the state of your mental health directly impacts everything in your life.
If you’re anxious, your life will be negatively impacted by limiting behaviors.
If you’re depressed, the same thing will occur.
What you think influences what you feel, and what you feel influences what you do.
This entire cycle is impacted by your attitude.
Negative thoughts leave you feeling discouraged, possibly angry, bitter and hopeless.
Positive thoughts make you feel hopeful, encouraged, optimistic and empowered.
Your actions mirror your feelings: seek out experiences that validate the way you feel and behave.
Gratitude transforms this entire cycle by first changing your thoughts.
“I don’t have enough” becomes “I have so much”.
“I am bitter and sad” becomes “I am so happy and at peace”.
Finally, you validate your feelings with your behaviors.
Experiencing gratitude can change your life from self-destruct mode to an empowered, free and happy mode.
If you suffer from any kind of anxiety or depression, gratitude is a powerful tool that could potentially completely eliminate those symptoms. Remember, gratitude is overpowering, and it shines bright. Often, the shadows of anxiety and depression aren’t even visible in the light of gratitude.
How to practice gratitude
By now you’re probably convinced that gratitude is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal to create a healthy, positive, happy and fulfilled life.
So the next step is to learn how to experience it more frequently in your life.
Like all good things, it takes practice and patience to feel grateful for all the goodness in your life.
Below, we discuss four powerful methods to make gratitude a consistently present attitude in your life. Practicing these four methods every day, will overcome you with gratitude in no time at all!
Keep a gratitude journal
Keeping a gratitude journal is definitely the most popular way to practice gratitude daily.
Whether your ritual is simple or elaborate, get creative and have fun. There are no set instructions, just a few simple rules:
Do it every day.
Habits form out of consistency. To train your brain to find the best in all possible situations, practice it every day.
‘When’ or ‘where’ is not important.
Whether you are an AM or PM writer, find a time that works for you and stick to it every day.
Feel it.
Previously we talked about the difference between real gratitude and merely saying thank you.
This is where that knowledge comes in handy.
When you think about whatever you’re grateful for, take a moment – even if it really is just a moment – to feel that gratitude throughout your entire body. Make the experience as real as possible.
Just writing down what you’re grateful for, without experiencing it, defeats the purpose of the exercise.
Make it real and it will last.
Write it down.
This goes without saying, since it is a journal afterall, but we’re mentioning it just to stress the importance.
Don’t keep it in your head.
Give it power through your written word.
If you follow these simple rules, gratitude will begin to shape your life very quickly. You’ll start to feel a sense of duty to your journal, and that duty will open up your eyes to all of the wonderful things life has to offer that you can be grateful for.
For inspiration, watch this short video from Oprah Winfrey as she discusses the power her gratitude journal has in her life.
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