Practicing gratitude has incredible effects, from improving our mental health to boosting our relationships with others.
Practicing gratitude can have far reaching life-enhancing effects, from improving your mental health to boosting your relationships with family members and friends.
Living your life with gratitude helps you notice the little wins—like the bus showing up right on time, a stranger holding the door for you, or the sun shining through your window when you wake up in the morning.
Each of these small moments strings together to create a web of well-being that, over time, strengthens your ability to better notice the peace, joy and good in life.
Building your capacity for gratitude isn’t difficult. It just takes practice. The more you can bring your attention to that which you feel grateful for, the more you’ll notice to feel grateful for!
1. Start by observing. Notice the thank yous you say. Just how much of a habitual response is it? Is it a hasty aside, an afterthought? How are you feeling when you express thanks in small transactions? Stressed, uptight, a little absent-minded? Do a quick scan of your body—are you already physically moving on to your next interaction?
2. Pick one interaction a day. When your instinct to say “thanks” arises, stop for a moment and take note. Can you name what you feel grateful for, even beyond the gesture that’s been extended? Then say thank you.
Robert Emmons, psychology professor and gratitude researcher at the University of California, Davis, explains that there are two key components of practicing gratitude:
- We affirm the good things we’ve received
- We acknowledge the role other people play in providing our lives with goodness
Research has linked gratitude with a wide range of health, mental and emotional benefits, including strengthening your immune system and improving sleep patterns, feeling optimistic and experiencing more joy and pleasure, being more helpful and generous, and feeling less lonely and isolated.
“Gratitude is “an affirmation of goodness”. When you practice gratitude, you acknowledge the good things in the world and the gifts you’ve received in your life.” ~ Robert Emmons
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