Gratitude. If you have nothing else in life, have gratitude.
With a new day quickly approaching, it’s time to consider your mental and emotional wellbeing as well as how you plan on losing that extra 10 pounds you gained over the Covid 19 shut down. If you want to do something positive for your wellbeing this year, practice gratitude.
The connection between gratitude and wellness is somewhat of a mystical theory, many studies have shown that practicing gratitude does, in fact, effect the wellness of humans who practice gratitude on a regular basis. It also has been shown to affect the wellness of participants in the long term after daily practice has been halted. “A number of researchers have defined gratitude as a positive emotional reaction in response to the receipt of a gift or benefit from someone”. It sounds very cliche but having a grateful heart can only bring more good things to your life.
I cannot stress enough how important it is to count your blessings on a moment to moment basis, a daily basis, or at the very least, a weekly basis. The universe listens and will give you more of what you are grateful for. It will also create and deliver many more blessings if you make it a point to acknowledge the source of your gifts, prosperity, wellness or happiness and your feelings about them, out loud or in a journal.
Some of the ways you can count your blessings include:
- Keep a daily gratitude journal
- Say a thankful prayer to the Universe/Source/God whenever you receive a blessing
- Start a daily/weekly video blog
- While at dinner, ask each person in attendance to name one thing they are grateful for that day
- Gratitude Meditation
- Use a social app like Gratiu to remind you to practice gratitude daily. To download the app, just click the request button on the top right of this screen for free access!
Maybe journaling isn’t your cup of tea. Maybe keeping a video blog isn’t going to work for you, that’s OK! There are so many ways you can express your gratitude. If you find that you are thankful for something that someone did for you or said to you, thank them by taking them to coffee, dinner, getting them a small gift of appreciation, or simply writing them an email or note expressing your gratitude for their good deed.
When your gratitude is aimed at a person and you are willing to put yourself out there to express to them your gratefulness, not only will your health and wellness benefit, but the health and wellness of the object of your appreciation will also benefit. In fact, I believe that even if you are unwilling to share your gratitude with the person for which you are thankful, sharing it with the universe along with their name, will still benefit their wellness. Think in terms of the “butterfly effect” or karma.
Scientist are still not totally clear why or how gratitude seems to affect our daily wellness and feelings of well-being, but the end result is that it does have a positive and lasting consequence on our wellness. So, practice, practice, practice!
You can practice your gratitude daily on the Gratiu app! You can even “thank” someone there if they were the reason or a part of the reason your gratitude exists.
Next time someone or something deserves your gratitude, express your appreciation in a meaningful way and enjoy the smile that it brings to your face and to your soul.
Tina
