What if I told you that by regularly doing one simple thing, you could drastically improve your overall health, relationships and your general happiness? What one thing could be this powerful? Drumroll please .... it’s expressing gratitude. What is the power in gratitude, and how can you use it to transform your health, relationships and happiness?
Health
Expressing gratitude can improve your health. Focusing on and being grateful for the good in your life improves your outlook, helps decrease stress and helps you feel better. According to Dr. Robert Emmons of the University of California, grateful people experience fewer aches and pains and report feeling happier. Expressing gratitude can even improve your sleep. Studies show that spending 15 minutes before going to bed writing statements of gratitude in a journal helps you sleep better and longer.
Relationships
We all experience ups and downs in our relationships, whether with family, friends or coworkers. You amplify what you focus on inviting more of the same. If you dwell on the negative, the negative grows; if you focus on the positive, the positive grows. Noticing and expressing appreciation for the good brings more good and strengthens your relationships. It creates a greater sense of good will and empathy. You are less likely to fall into the comparison trap. Instead of feeling resentful, you can appreciate other’s accomplishments.
Happiness
Adopting an attitude of gratitude creates an overall sense of wellbeing and creates a more positive outlook. I like Arianna Huffington’s statement, “Gratitude works its magic by serving as an antidote to negative emotions. It’s like white blood cells for the soul, protecting us from cynicism, entitlement, anger, and resignation.”
In times of trial, it may be harder to look for the good, but there is always an opportunity for growth, as well as opportunity to serve and be served. By choosing to appreciate what you have rather than dwell on what you lack, you can increase your happiness.
To feel and express gratitude requires awareness and conscious effort. Grateful awareness increases your sensitivity to and invites more good into your life.
Here are some ways to regularly create an attitude of gratitude:
Write thank-you notes You can make someone’s day and improve your relationship with them by giving them a thank-you note. You can express your appreciation for their efforts or let them know of the positive impact they have made in your life. Consider seeking out at least one individual a month and write them a thank-you note.
Keep a gratitude journal
Keep a journal by your bed and spend a few minutes before you go to sleep writing about the good things in your day and what you are thankful for. Also, at the end of the week, month and/or year, consider recording what came together for you and worked out well, as well as the good that came from a trying situation.
Say “thank you.”
When someone does something nice, rather than just thinking it, say “thank you.” This is best done in person, but electronic (email, text, etc.) is also powerful. Whether it’s a store worker, a child, friend or spouse, everyone appreciates a heart-felt thank you.
Have an optimistic outlook
Choose to look for the good in the situations you face. Try to identify what you can learn from your challenges. Consider situations from other people’s point-of-view.
Regardless of our circumstance, we all have much to be grateful for if we chose to pause and make a conscious effort to look for it. Express thanks. Gratitude takes deliberate effort until it becomes a habit. Rather than dwelling on things you lack, consider creating a deeper awareness of the good in your life, and incorporate regular ways to express gratitude. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude and experience improved health, relationships and happiness.
Pamela Adams Henrie is the owner of The Success Choice and creator of “The Success Choice Planner” and the “Choosing Joy in the Journey Journal.” For more information, or to contact Pamela, visit her website at TheSuccessChoice.com, or her blog at SuccessChoiceWoman.com.
Originally published on The Daily Hearld’s Herald Extra November 21, 2017
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