We can cultivate greater happiness and financial security by making some intentional changes in our lives.
Today’s blog is about the power of Gratitude. The next blog entry will be about Gratitude for Our Finances.
GRATITUDE
“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.” ~ Brother David Steindl-Rast
Gratitude is amazingly powerful. Sometimes we can be inspired by others around us and be grateful for their contributions. This may be true for a favorite teacher you admired, a relative, or a friend. Brother David Steindl-Rast has devoted more than 40 years to cultivating gratitude, building bridges between religious traditions such as Christianity and Buddhism. His story is on the website www.gratefulness.org. Spending a few minutes on the website will lift your spirits.
We often float through life aimlessly, with each busy day flowing into the next. It is easy to forget why we are working so hard. Yet, when we express gratitude, we stop taking things for granted. By taking a moment to focus on what in your life you’re grateful for, you engage your mind and the fog clears. You once again recognize the beautiful things in the world, the wonderful people in your life, and how much you have to be thankful for.
“When we appreciate the good, the good appreciates.”
Tal Ben-Shahar (Psychologist)
The ways to focus on gratitude are endless. One research study by Psychologists Seligman, Steen, Park, and Peterson looked at several different forms of expressing gratitude, trying to determine the strategies that had the greatest impact and lasting effect. One strategy, which they called “Three Good Things,” involved writing down three things that went well at the end of every day, along with a brief comment about why each event was good. The participants were told the three things could be minor (“My husband picked up my favorite ice cream on the way home from work today”) or significant (“My sister just gave birth to a healthy baby boy”).
The researchers found that “counting one’s blessings increases happiness and decreases symptoms of depression for up to six months.” Psychologists Emmons and McCullough found that people who keep gratitude journals exercise more regularly, feel healthier, and are more optimistic.
There are many ways to express gratitude, and one of them is to simply thank those around us, in a genuine and heartfelt way. With practice, anyone can become more optimistic and happier, simply by focusing on the many blessings we have in our lives. We may be born with the tendency to see the glass half empty or half full, but we can deliberately increase our happiness by establishing a gratitude practice.
Psychologist Robert Emmons, who has focused his research career on gratitude, talks about the “freedom” that a gratitude practice provides: “By appreciating the gifts of the moment, gratitude frees us from past regrets and future anxieties. By cultivating gratefulness, we are freed from envy over what we don’t have or who we are not. It doesn’t make life perfect, but with gratitude comes the realization that right now, in this moment, we have enough, we are enough.”
TRY IT: 7 Ways to Make Gratitude Part of Your Life
- Write down a list of 10 things for which you are grateful. If you are still going strong when you have written down 10, keep going. You will be amazed at how this simple act can profoundly change your outlook. Keep your gratitude list or journal in an accessible place and review it occasionally. Add new items to the list when you think of them.
- Keep a journal. A journal can help you focus on your feelings (instead of stuffing them down), and is an important step in releasing your emotions and unleashing your creativity. If the idea of writing in a journal is intimidating to you, just call it a notebook. Have a free-spirited attitude as you write in your journal.
- Make a list of five things for which you are grateful each day for a month. The five things may seem small and insignificant such as waking up to the sound of birds chirping, or being grateful that you live in a free society. Perhaps they will seem very significant, such as being grateful for your children, spouse, friends, and pets. Starting your morning with thoughts of gratitude can have a positive impact on your entire day. Ending with thoughts of gratitude can help you drift off to sleep in a positive frame of mind.
- Make gratitude part of your daily routine. For example, think about what you are grateful for while having your morning cup of coffee or tea, while brushing your teeth, or while taking a walk in the evening.
- Say a gratitude prayer before a meal, before bedtime, or upon waking. Or do a gratitude meditation. Once you start intentionally saying a gratitude prayer, you are likely to find many situations throughout the day to say “thanks.”
- Write a gratitude letter to someone who has had a positive impact on your life. This action will provide tremendous benefits to you and the person receiving the letter. If possible, hand-deliver the gratitude letter. If that isn’t possible, send it to the person and follow up with a phone call a few days later.
- Tell someone what you appreciate about them. This may feel awkward, but it gets easier with practice. The recipient will greatly appreciate your comments, and you will benefit too.
