The Life-Changing Power of Gratitude
In my personal experience, I’ve noticed that one of the most life-changing tweaks I’ve made in my waking life has been implementing a practice of daily gratitude.
I believe gratitude is one of the most undervalued things that people overlook, yet it’s made the biggest difference in my own life, in improving my happiness and motivation.
When we’re always focused on the things we don’t have, the lack or the necessity for something that is missing, we start to feel a void, an emptiness, sometimes even a desperation or an urgent need to have the thing we’re focusing on that is outside our current grasp.
While it’s good to have goals and dreams, to create visions and explore new ideas, it’s important to first feel grateful for all that we do have in front of us, and realize that we may not be doing as bad as we think we are.
It can be discouraging to think about how far away you are from reaching a certain point or what the present may look like in comparison to that dream or future you would like to achieve, which is why it’s important to reframe your mindset.
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How Gratitude can Motivate You to Reach Your Goals
One way in which gratitude has significantly changed my life is it’s helped me feel more motivated to reach my goals.
By forcing me to look at all my previous accomplishments, all the things that I’ve already obtained, already done and completed, it helps me see that I am in fact on track and doing really well for my age, even if there’s a lot I haven’t done yet.
Now, I realize not everyone may be in the position where they feel they are at a good point in their life, which is again why it’s so important to look at the things you DO have, and HAVE DONE, rather than the things you DON’T HAVE, and HAVEN’T DONE.
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How to Practice Gratitude
One of my favorite exercises to do this is sitting down with a pen and a paper, and writing a list of all the things that I’m grateful for. This can be things that I’ve either done, that have happened to me, or even just things I’ve always had like a home and a family.
Life isn’t always perfect, but there’s always something to be grateful for. Sometimes it takes a bit of thinking, but you can start with small, simple things like a cup of coffee, the food that you ate that morning, the comfort of your bed, etc.
The more you practice feeling gratitude and viewing the positives in life, the easier it’ll get, and the more your mindset will shift towards viewing the world in a positive lens.
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How Gratitude can Make You Happier Overall
As gratitude forces you to look at all the positive things in your life, over time, it changes your entire perspective of life, towards being more positive overall.
Some people have told me that being too positive can be problematic, since you’ll be avoiding facing problems and living in a delusion rather than reality.
The reason I disagree is because life will never be perfect. There will always be both positives and negatives no matter what kind of life you live, no matter how many of your goals you’ve achieved and how close you’ve come to having the dream life you’ve envisioned.
There will always be both pros and cons to everything—so if you only ever see the negatives, you will never truly be happy.
I also believe that if you choose to have a positive mindset, you naturally start to focus on the solution rather than the problem, and if there is no solution, then there’s no reason to focus on the problem anyway.
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The Way Gratitude Changes the Brain
Studies also show that gratitude actually rewires the structure of your brain and changes your brain chemistry. When you choose to think positive thoughts and feel more gratitude, the brain releases dopamine and serotonin, two neurotransmitters that create the happiness we feel.
The practice also creates new neural pathways, strengthens positive pathways, and leads to more increased use of those pathways, which means the practice will benefit you even when you’re not actively thinking about being grateful.
Your entire mindset will shift and change as long as you begin to incorporate this practice into your life and do it often and consistently enough.
Other Benefits of Gratitude
There are many other benefits to feeling gratitude including:
Improved sleep amount and quality
Reduced stress levels
Better relationships and higher satisfaction in social environments
Better cognitive function
Positive mindset
Increased optimism and hope
Makes us more likeable
Makes us less self-centered
Greater feelings of joy and happiness
Lowered feelings of anxiety and depression
Improved chronic pain
Lowered risk of disease
Increased motivation
More energy
Reduced need for materialism
Increased spiritualism
Higher self-esteem
Greater longevity
Increased productivity
Improved resilience
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