For almost over six years, I have practiced expressing gratitude right after my morning meditation. I simply sit down, close my eyes, hold Namaste and say out four to five things that I am grateful for as a reminder for myself. Just as now, even when I started this I started with no expectations on what I will gain out of it. I started to practice this after reading a lot on this subject.
Gratitude is such a simple habit that you can practice anywhere anytime. Yet it is such a powerful process that can transform your lives. Human desire only keeps growing and as a result, it is often easy to lose sight of the little things in life that truly matter to us. Things that keep us mentally, physically, and emotionally intact. Simple things like having a roof over your head, food to eat, being in good health, access to water, etc. These may sound like very basic things but there are millions of people just like us that aren’t so lucky to have any of these things.
By practicing to express gratitude daily (or as much as you can), you are reminding yourself to be grateful for the things that you have in life rather than complaining about what you do not have. A mental shift like this can open us to grace tremendously. A mindset that is already happy and content is more likely to persevere in life and achieve great things. Below are some ways practicing gratitude can make you a happier person.
- Literally makes you a happier person: I admit that this one’s too straight forward, but it’s really true. There is enough scientific evidence today which shows that acts of kindness and gratitude floods our brain with a chemical called dopamine. Hence, whenever we are truly grateful for something, our brain gives us that natural high. Haven’t you noticed that whenever you are happy, you want to share that happiness with others?
- Releases toxic thoughts and emotions: All of us often get distracted by thoughts and emotions that bring us down and feel negative about life. While working through such emotions is an important part of the spiritual process, gracefully being present in those moments are just as important. A person who practices gratitude can deal with such situations gracefully with an open mind.
- Makes you a better sleeper: Feelings of gratitude opens up a part of our brain that directly influences our sleep patterns. Being grateful can slowly contribute to the quality of your sleep and shorten the time it takes you to fall asleep. How well you sleep contributes a lot to how you feel during your waking hours. I’m sure you see the connection and know what this means.
- Helps you stay more grounded and content: This is one of the most profound things that being grateful have allowed me to feel. Through my daily self-reminders, It is a lot easier for me to bring my mind back to a state of gratefulness whenever I get distracted and wrapped up in negative thoughts. It has helped me to always remind myself of all the important things and people I have in my life. This helps me to stay focused and content about where I am in life in the present moment.
- Reduces stress: Stress is just an emotion you experience when your mind is challenged with situations (or a series of situations) that occur in your life. This is a very important part of life and cannot be eliminated entirely. But how you deal with stressful situations will decide on how you function at work and everyday life. When you are grateful, you walk through life more gracefully and with minimal friction. Gratitude has also shown to make us more resilient to traumatic and stressful events in our lives.
Gratitude is a very transformative practice you can integrate into your life starting from today. You can start with self-affirmations or even better with a gratitude journal. What’s keeping you from being grateful every day? The time is now.
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