1. You Notice What’s Going Right, Rather than Ruminating on What is Wrong
We all have our ups and downs in life, but our problems only become more overwhelming when we get sucked into the doom and gloom. When we move into victim-mode and focus heavily on what is going wrong, we stop ourselves from being effective.
Gratitude can help pull us out of victim-mode. Too often, we let our focus be dominated by what is not going right, and this becomes overwhelming and disenchanting. By intentionally changing our focus through practicing gratitude, you rewire your brain so that it starts looking for the things that are going well. You can apply this to your relationships, your job, or life in general.
Action Point: Spend 2 mins at either the start or end of everyday jotting down 3 things you were grateful for in the preceding 24 hours. The key is to do this daily.
If you want to practice situation specific gratitude, you can make this 3 positive things to do with your job, or 3 things you appreciate about your partner for example.
2. You Start Being More Thankful for the Little Things
Our lives are incredibly hectic these days, and overflowing with stimulation. Tragically, in the midst of the pace of modern life, many of us are forgetting that great joy can be found in simple things. We’re forgetting to literally ‘stop and smell the roses’ and instead, take many of the beautiful everyday parts of life for granted.
Practicing gratitude daily helps train your mind to look for the little things. It focuses your attention and over time you come to notice the small, simple pleasures in each day. It may be the perfect taste of a cup of herbal tea or the smell of the fresh salt air at the beach. A daily gratitude practice helps your mind look for, and take note of, these simple joys.
Action Point: Make one of the 3 things on your daily gratitude list something that is small and simple in nature.
3. You Put Less Value on the Material
Perhaps one of the greatest effects of a regular gratitude practice is that you start to notice that most of the things you are grateful for don’t cost large sums of money. Our true joy tends to come from our relationships, experiences and the little things.
By changing your focus, you’ll find that the things you focus on begin to change. You begin to recognize that true happiness isn’t found in material stuff. A regular gratitude practice helps you see that joy isn’t something that comes from outside of us, and typically can’t be bought.
Action Point: Make one of the 3 things on your daily gratitude list something that didn’t cost a penny. It may be a smile from a friend or a beautiful wildflower.
4. You Share Your Appreciation More
Having a regular gratitude practice helps you foster an ‘attitude of gratitude’ that you will inevitably begin to share with the world. As your mind gets used to looking for things to be grateful for, you will notice this level of thankfulness extends into your relationships.
I believe gratitude basically makes you a nicer human. You’re less likely to take people and their actions for granted, and more likely to look for genuine opportunities where you can say Thank You. All good things for your interactions with others.
Action Point: An excellent way to up-level a daily gratitude practice is to look for at least one person a week who you can genuinely thank. That could be a quick email or a handwritten thank you note.
5. You’ll Feel Happier
A regular gratitude practice is one of the things that has been shown by scientific studies to make us happier humans, in multiple ways.
A daily gratitude practice changes the way you look at the world. It’s like swapping out the dark sunglasses for some rose-colored lens. Even if you feel like you’re already optimistic, a daily gratitude practice helps you focus on the stuff that truly matters in life. It ensures you don’t overlook the small and simple things that we all so easily take for granted.
When you are intentionally looking for the good in your life, you will always find it. A daily gratitude practice is a small action that can truly help you be happier, and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
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Hi. I’m Kate Snowise. I’m a Life Coach and host of the Here to Thrive Podcast. I help people get clear on what they want, need and crave, and then helps them take the steps to move towards that.
I believe life is about more than surviving and being good enough. Each of us truly has the ability to thrive and live a beautiful, aligned life where we remember and connect with our authentic selves. I have an MSc in Psychology (the positive kind that concentrates on what is right with you). To read more about my signature coaching program The Thriving Life Project