7 Benefits Of A Gratitude Practice And How To Start One
The benefits of a gratitude practice have been seen in the emotional, physical, social and mental improvements of those who choose to practice gratitude daily. Gratitude is one of the positive psychology tools that everyone is able to access all on their own and through consistent, intentional use, you can use a gratitude practice to physically rewire the neural connections in your brain.
What does that mean? It means that by practicing gratitude daily you can change the way in which your brain notices and interprets things – reducing stress, negativity and unhappiness while increasing joy and positivity.
Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of The How of Happiness and professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of California pointed out that our happiness is based on 50% genetics, 10% life circumstance and 40% intentional activity.
In my travels, I’ve always noticed that some of the happiest people I’ve met in this world have lived in the most impoverished circumstances – I’m sure there’s a few of you out there who have noticed this as well. And some of the most stressed, unhappy people are those living the “good life” of corporate America with all the money they could hope for.
When we look at the idea that 40% of our propensity for happiness comes from our own intentional activities, that means that we have the ability to increase our happiness by 40% !! Not by changing our circumstances or getting everything we think will make our lives better, but by changing our behaviour and attitude to what we have right now.
START WITH A GRATITUDE JOURNAL
The easiest way to start an intentional gratitude practice is through a gratitude journal. Each day, write down a minimum of 3 things you are grateful for that day. The point is to try and have 3 different things each day (don’t just write down your dog, your family, and coffee every day).
The secret here for making this a truly powerful practice is to identify the feelings behind the gratitude. Why do these things make you feel grateful?
Try it now:
I am grateful for ______ because ______.
This is a simple practice to add into your daily life and, with consistency, you will notice the benefits of a gratitude practice.
GRATITUDE MEDITATION
Another way to incorporate gratitude into your daily life is through gratitude meditations. You can find guided meditations that focus on gratitude on popular apps like Insight Timer, Calm, or Headspace. Take a peek at this article that shares 3 gratitude meditations to practice.
Not sure it’s worth it yet?
Here are 7 benefits of a gratitude practice
1. Practicing Gratitude Fosters Optimism
When you know that you have to write a list of things you’re grateful for, you will start paying more attention to and appreciate the small moments of beauty and kindness in your day. You’ll begin to notice that you can see the light in difficult moments as well. Did you know that optimists have a significantly lower risk of heart disease than pessimists?
2. Gratitude Reduces Depression and Anxiety
Being grateful doesn’t always come naturally. There are days where coming up with even just 3 things can be a challenge. It is on the dark days where your gratitude practice is needed the most.
The neural connections in your brain begin to shift and rewire the moment you begin to see things in a new light. For those who have mindsets stuck in negativity, fear or hopelessness those pathways begin to be replaced by pathways that see the positive outcomes. As you think of the things you are grateful for the “happy hormones” of dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin are released.
3. Being Grateful Increases Self-Awareness
As you dive deep into your gratitude practice you’ll get a chance to create an even deeper understanding of yourself. You’ll become more aware of what types of things you truly appreciate, what brings you joy, and what you value most in life.
4. A Gratitude Practice Supports Physical Health
A healthy mind equals a healthy body thanks to the power of the mind-body connection. All parts of our body are connected: our emotions impact our brain and our brain health impacts our physical health.
For example, our hypothalamus influences our appetite, temperature, sleep, hormone release, etc. Gratitude activates this part of our brain which, in turn, helps us sleep better, calms the stress, regulates our emotions and bodies, etc.
5. Gratitude Enhances Empathy and Reduces Aggression
Our dedication to feeling grateful can have benefits on our social interactions as well. When we are grateful for our lives as they are now, we have an ability to respond to others with less envy or jealousy and more compassion and understanding.
6. Being Grateful Strengthens Self-Esteem
Gratitude does a lot for increasing our positivity, looking at situations optimistically and deepening our self-awareness. A natural by-product of all of this is a boost in self-esteem. As you feel happier and more grateful, you exude more happiness and even more confidence.
7. Practicing Gratitude Leads To Better Decision-Making and Productivity
You’re getting better sleep, feeling less stress and worry and enjoying the clear, focused mind that comes along with that. When we aren’t placing so much attention on our worries or the things that are going wrong in life, we are better able to focus on the task at hand. We’re able to make decisions with clarity and confidence. In simpler terms, it’s easier to get shit done – both in our personal lives and professional.
There are countless other benefits of a gratitude practice but the true key here is patience and consistency. The holistic benefits have been found in a number of studies from students to medical patients. If you begin spending just 10 minutes a day being intentionally grateful, you can begin to notice the benefits in as little as a few weeks to three months.
The longer you continue this, the more positive changes you will notice in your mindset, attitude, reactions and goals. Simply put, a daily gratitude practice can support you in living a happier, healthier life – and isn’t that what we all truly want at the end of the day?