The Importance of Gratitude
Although November is a perfect time to be thankful, thankfulness is something that should always be practiced daily along with gratitude. A lot of people tend to be busy with their lives, and sometimes forget how blessed we are especially those of us who focus more on the negative.
What is Gratitude?
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According to Yale University, Gratitude is a state of mind where you are aware of what you have and appreciate things in your life as a blessing and a gift. We might not have an easy or pleasing life, but what we can do is look ahead and appreciate what we have and do our best everyday.
Why Is It Important to Practice Gratitude?
There are many benefits in practicing gratitude. One of the main reasons is that it strongly contributes to our happiness levels and improves our mental health. A list of benefits from Happier Human include: improved health, productivity, energy, confidence, personality development, and more.
How Does Gratitude Make You Happier?
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Many assume that positive thinkers and people who express gratitude are naive or those who “run away from difficult challenges.” That is not true. In order for positive thinking to occur, the person must acknowledge the negatives in order to see the good in the situation. You can be going through your worst moments and one positive thought won’t change your pain or sadness, but what gratitude can do is promote happiness and your mood in general.
Being grateful allows you to shift into a different mindset, cope with stress better and develop healthier and happier thoughts. You’re able to embrace positive life experiences. You’ll have the capacity to look at both the good and the bad while gaining knowledge and learning from it.
Practicing gratitude is not hard or tedious, and I don’t quite understand how people perceive it that way. It only takes a few minutes or even a few seconds of your day to just remind yourself of positive thoughts. Don’t you say you don’t know how to! There is always something to be grateful for and there are plenty of ways to show that!
Here are 5 Easy Ways to express gratitude to yourself, to your family and friends, to your coworkers and even to strangers.
1. Acknowledging What You’re Blessed With
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You can acknowledge what you’re blessed with, both verbally and through your actions. Take the time to let someone know that you appreciate them in your life, write what you’re thankful for in a journal, or saying a simple “thank you” or “good job” to someone.
An example of how I express my gratitude is through my actions. My family are the most important people in my life, but sadly my actions and behavior don’t normally display my feelings for them. I learned that people don’t live forever as I saw how many people I started losing, and I don’t want to one day live with the regret that I never showed them how much I appreciated them. Since realizing this, my behavior has changed. I am now more patient and understanding. At times, I do lose my cool and make mistakes by lashing out my anger and saying hurtful words. Sometimes we hurt others on accident, but as long as we try to make an effort to show people we love and appreciate them, then that’s all that matters.
2. Valuing the Time You Spend with People You Love
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I don’t have to be verbal about it all the time in order to express gratitude. I value the time I spent with people that make me happy. By taking more time out of my day with people I love shows them how much I enjoy their company. Whether it’s eating at the dinner table with family, catching up with your siblings or friends, watching a movie with your parents or even cuddling with your pet, it is enough.
3. Less Complaining & More Solutions
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If there are problems, then there are solutions. Don’t let your fear overwhelm you yet! Take a deep breath and if you need to, cry. I used to freak out whenever there was a problem because I was always afraid of the consequences. You can’t always prevent things from happening and you can’t always fix everything perfectly. However, there are solutions to make up for them. Instead of looking at the problems, I look at the solutions and opportunities. Because of my mindset, I’m able to move forward, grow and eventually succeed. You can look at the negatives all you want, but nothing will change unless you look at the positive opportunities and figure out ways to improve.
4. Being More Patient and Understanding of Others
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You can’t control other people or the situation, but you can control your reactions. I’m a short-tempered person, so this is extremely hard for me. What I do is I quietly walk away and allow myself to get mad. Then when I’m ready to address the person or the issue, I will in a calm manner. This allows me to make clear decisions and prevents me from hurting other people with my words when I’m mad.
5. Treat Yourself Because You Deserve It. You Really Do.
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This is important. Don’t forget to show gratitude to yourself with some self-care. If you don’t take care of yourself, all the stress will add up. Not only will you be stressed, exhausted and unhappy, but you’ll be spreading that negative energy to others. Be considerate of yourself and others by not spreading bad vibes. Give yourself the time to relax and heal. Take a nap, watch a movie, finish your work earlier, go window shopping, hang with friends, or treat yourself to amazing food. In my personal opinion, I find it so easy to wind down and relax when I’m playing board games with my friends and family. Remember, do whatever is best for you.