Cultivating Gratitude

This Thanksgiving, many of us will be able to gather as we did prior to the pandemic. While this is definitely something we can be thankful for, we don’t need to wait for the holidays to acknowledge our blessings and embrace gratitude. And we don’t only need to show our gratitude during the holiday season. In fact, incorporating gratitude into our daily routines can improve both our mood and our relationships. 

So what is gratitude, exactly? It is a positive emotion that we experience when we acknowledge the goodness in our lives. This involves reflecting on the positives that life has to offer us, as well as the people and things around us that bring us joy. 

Why should we practice gratitude? Recognizing and expressing our thanks has been shown to improve our feelings of well-being. Furthermore, it has been linked to better physical health through the mind-body connection. Gratitude can help us sleep better, feel more self-confident, and be able to handle stress more effectively. This positively impacts our mental health, and how we interact with others too. 

Here are some ways to incorporate gratitude into our everyday lives:

Journaling –
Keeping a daily journal of what we are thankful for is an easy way to get started. It’s a quick and simple way to focus on the positives in our lives. Some examples of journal prompts could be a top five list of things we are thankful for or focusing on something that we appreciated today, big or small. Don’t like journaling? You can also make a visual board of pictures that inspire feelings of thankfulness and joy. Be sure to place it where it can be seen everyday. How we put our thoughts of gratitude together isn’t as important as making the time everyday to acknowledge it.

Paying attention to the little things –
Life can be so hectic that we are often bouncing from one activity to the next without pause. Taking the time to notice the little things about our life that we might take for granted is easy, yet seldom practiced. When we bring our attention to small things that we are thankful for, we can direct our thoughts in a positive direction instead of a negative one. Appreciating the smile of a child or friend, the smell of our favorite candle, or the autumn leaves outside are all examples of small details we overlook until we miss them and they are gone.  

Channeling our gratitude into action –
Expressing our gratitude outwardly can take many forms. One great way to express gratitude is to intentionally show other people that we are grateful for them. Here are a few examples of how this can be shown:

• Telling family members what we are grateful for during dinnertime

• Sending an email to a co-worker telling them how their hard work is appreciated

• Writing thank you notes to friends about the importance of their friendship

• Posting on social media a picture of something beautiful or  inspirational

• Volunteering our time for a good cause
  

Just like with anything else that we are trying to learn, incorporating gratitude everyday takes practice. So if putting our thankfulness into action doesn’t happen right away, don’t worry. Acknowledging what we are thankful for every day can help us cultivate the positive benefits of gratitude practice.