You’ve probably heard this by now, but being grateful is life-changing. There’s no wonder it’s become a trend to make lists of things you are grateful for and appreciate what we have.
But do you know why and how giving thanks can positively transform your life?
I don’t agree with having positive thoughts all the time. That can be very stressful! We are all just human beings trying to survive in a chaotic world, anyway. It’s perfectly fine to have a negative thought occasionally! The aim should not be to try and control all your thoughts, but to cultivate a positive attitude that becomes your default. When you practice positive thinking, you can relax the constant monitoring of your thoughts.
One of the best ways that I have found to cultivate positivity is through gratitude.
Here are 10 ways gratitude can improve your life!
1. Gratitude increases mental strength
Studies show that practicing gratitude can boost your happiness and resilience. (Regular gratitude practice means keeping a daily or weekly gratitude journal or practicing gratitude meditations). Gratitude can help with trauma and PTSD. A study published in Behavior Research and Therapy in 2006 showed that Vietnam War Veterans experienced lower rates of PTSD when they practiced being grateful.
2. Gratitude decreases stress
Gratitude reduces stress by taking our minds away from toxic emotions we may be feeling around frustrations, anxiety and life problems and relieves their negative impact. When we have been practicing gratitude regularly, our ability to switch focus is improved and our attention is more inclined to turn towards the good things in life or to find the positives of a situation that have otherwise proved stressful.
3. Gratitude improves physical health
Grateful people feel better physically overall. They experience fewer pains and illnesses and tend to exercise more. People who keep gratitude journals tend to take better care of their health too. Some studies show that it can even help with lowering blood pressure and maintaining the immune system healthy.
4. Gratitude helps relationships
Gratitude can increase your sense of belonging in the world, which in turn makes you feel less lonely and more connected to everyone else. It’s also proven that appreciation of others, literally giving thanks to people for their contributions in your life, will benefit your relationships overall.
5. Gratitude helps us sleep better
Robert Emmons, the world’s most prolific gratitude researcher who wrote “Thanks: How The New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier,” encourages people to count their blessings if they cannot sleep. Moving the mind away from worries and stresses and towards good things relax us, therefore, sleep comes easily.
6. Gratitude improves self-esteem
Being grateful can help us feel better about what we have in our lives, put a stop to unhealthy comparisons, and appreciate that there is room for everyone to experience happiness and success in this life. When you practice gratitude, you practice self-love, which is truly vital for a happy life.
7. Gratitude makes us kinder
Studies have shown that people who have a daily practice of gratitude become naturally kinder; they are more likely to help someone in need or volunteer to be of service. A focus on gratitude in our own lives opens our hearts to those in need and give us that positive boost and ability to extend our love outwards.
8. Gratitude can help us reach our goals
People who regularly make lists of things to be grateful for are more likely to achieve personal goals or make faster progress in their career. Gratitude can connect us to our purpose, make us see what we are capable of and give us more motivation and the ability to find solutions to challenges.
9. Gratitude makes us feel more optimistic
Gratitude can make us feel happier, more optimistic, and more in control of the path we are on in life. When our emotions driven by gratitude, we begin to see more clearly in areas where we may have previously felt dejected. A feeling of optimism can infuse us with strength and determination to live our lives more purposefully.
10. Gratitude gives us perspective
When we start being grateful, we begin to think less of ourselves and more of others. We develop compassion and kindness and turn the focus away from our own lives and can see others with more clarity.
Gratitude is a practice, and like all practices, consistency and determination are key.
Feel the power of gratitude and enjoy this life-changing practice!
The whole thanks thing, in the astral form, is one of those things that could easily degenerate into codependent toxic habits of assuming the fake responsibility of managing another adults emotions. Which would be insulting to them and exhausting for you.
The best way to thank someone is to know them first. Some people prefer just doing things and not having to interact. The thankful thing in that case would be quietness and discretion with no word of thanks. Some people give out of the manipulatic notion of using guilt to nurture fake responsibility. The correct response is to protect your energy and let them learn how to be responsible for themselves.
Others just enjoy company and the natural feeling of enjoyment of life and gratitude and hospitality becomes very easy.
Openness and hospitality and close noticing of others is the nature of genuine gratitude.
Which is why I personally consider the gratitude in a vacuum in the form of journal writing may have the potential to be very unhealthy and the natural lessons of real gratitude would provide an excuse for an introvert to avoid learning how to be truly grateful.
Self centered gratitude that’s non specific in the form of living well is more reliable a form of gratitude.
Gratitude towards life itself.
Favors and expectancy have a tendency to nurture resentment and poor treatment and displacement, but self centered rational and objective gratitude is reliable for consistent well treatment of myself and others.
Wonderful article, thank you
That was a good article about gratitude. Thank you for sharing it!