An Attitude of Gratitude

Good morning Warriors,

I wrote a post about gratitude a long time ago, so long ago that it isn’t showing up on my blog anymore. I just realised that some of you guys might not know why I write a gratitude journal or share my ‘Thankful Tuesdays’ with you. So instead of just reposting I am decided to write a totally new post about gratitude and how it can help you achieve optimal happiness.

Gratitude is the feeling of being grateful or thankful. We all easily experience gratitude when something good happens to us, like if someone gives you a gift you immediately feel gratitude. Close your eyes for a second and just remember that feeling, imagine someone is giving you an awesome gift, something you have wanted for a long time. Feels good right? So the gratitude I am talking about is that feeling, every day, for mundane every day stuff.

We are bombarded these days with negativity and it can be difficult to identify things that are good in our everyday lives but once you start to really look you will be so surprised at the enormity of great things in your life right now.

When I started this journey I felt silly sometimes silently thanking my water for being clean, my electricity for existing and my food for being readily available to me but the longer I practiced gratitude the more connection I felt with my life, the world and the people around me making me feel pretty awesome inside.

There has been lots of scientific research into the connection between gratitude and happiness. One such study was conducted by Sonja Lyubomirsky a professor in the Department of Psychology of California.

Lyubomirsky’s research demonstrates that expressing gratitude has several benefits. People who are grateful are likely to be happier, hopeful and energetic, and they possess positive emotions more frequently. Individuals also tend to be more spiritual, forgiving, empathetic and helpful, while being less depressed, envious or neurotic.

In one particular study, a group of participants was asked to write down five things that generated gratefulness once a week for ten weeks. In the other control groups, participants were asked to list five hassles or major events that occurred that past week. The results showed that those who expressed gratitude tended to feel more satisfied and optimistic with their lives. Their health received a boost as well; fewer physical symptoms (such as headaches, acne, coughing or nausea) were reported, and they spent more time exercising. It’s therefore been noted that gratitude investigations depict a correlation between mental and physical health.

There are many ways to practice gratitude. My personal favourite, as you know, is through a Gratitude Journal. Every day I write down at least five things that I am grateful for. I find it not only helps my inner happiness and wellbeing but it also helps my personal relationships. When you really put thought into what you are thankful for in another human being it creates a new appreciation and deeper connection to them.

Another practice I love, which I find really useful, is practicing appreciation for bills. Yes, you heard me, bills.

Push away your initial negative connotations of bills for a second and let’s really think about it. Take your electricity bill for example, think about all the things that electricity allows you to experience, think about your hot showers, heating, light, the television. Just allow your mind to wander for a few moments about how much you enjoy using all of these things. Are you starting to feel good? Now that you have found your appreciation for electricity I promise you will feel better about paying that bill.

These are just some of the ways that I practice gratitude but it is not one size fits all. You might find another way that resonates better with you and that’s absolutely fine.

If anyone wants to share their experiences I would absolutely love to hear about them, you can contact me either here or more privately on my Facebook page.

Have a great Monday,

Aisling

xoxo