THE BENEFITS OF HAVING AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE
How often do you say ‘thank you,’ and really mean it? Do you sit in silence and reflect on all that you have to be grateful for? Do you sit and appreciate your family, friends, yourself…the big things. But, I’m also talking about every day things like, your morning coffee, a good nights’ sleep, your bed, the sun, the air you breathe, your body… Are you grateful and appreciative of all these things and do you address your gratitude?
The Benefits of Being Grateful
According to a Harvard Health study, in a positive psychology research they state there are many benefits to having an attitude of gratitude. They found that “Gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.” By being grateful for the positive and negative, we will reap many benefits, as stated above. And, according to Lifehack.org, “An attitude of gratitude means that you operate from a place of abundance instead of a place of scarcity and fear.
This is going to sound crazy, but are you grateful for the things in your life that may not be so good…the loss of a job, the loss of your credit card, a fender bender on your new car? Those aren’t as easy to be grateful for, however, you should be because it may be that one bad thing that can change your life, for the better. The more you are grateful for everything, the more you appreciate everything and the more that comes back to you to be grateful for. By being grateful for everything you receive, yes, even if it is bad, there is still always going to be something in that experience to learn from and to be grateful for.
By being grateful for the more difficult aspects of your life that are challenging you, the more you will start seeing them as opportunities and you will start changing your whole mindset. This will, in turn, help you to become a better You. You will start looking at the ‘bad’ things as an opportunity to see the positive in the situation; what it is offering you to make a change. Remember the old saying by Alexander Graham Bell, ‘When one door closes another door opens?’ And, what about Helen Keller’s quote, ‘When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.’ When we can’t be grateful when one door closes, we are going to miss out on the opportunity that the new open door is presenting to us. When we can be grateful for the closed door, we will be able to see the opportunities presenting themselves to us and can then move forward.
We also have to keep in mind that we cannot just focus on the outcome of gratitude. By this I mean, you can’t think, “Oh, I’m going to start being grateful for everything so that I get what I want out of it.” It doesn’t work that way, hence, the name, “gratitude.” You need to truly be grateful for what you receive, not to just do it in hopes of receiving. Then watch what happens. By being honestly grateful, we can receive the abundance we want in our lives.
Start having an attitude of gratitude by starting small. Every morning before starting your day, write down 3 things you are grateful for. Then, before you go to bed at night, write down 3 things you were grateful for that day. Once you get into that habit, start being grateful for little things throughout the day. You will notice that the more you are becoming mindful of gratitude, the more you will receive to be grateful. The act of gratitude will become habitual without you even realizing it.
I am grateful for all of you reading this, and hope that you will start taking on (or continue with) an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE, and watch your life change for the better, starting with just 3s comments of what you are grateful for.