I’ve been questioning if we make life more complicated than it really is? Like gratitude, one of the most natural mind practices, literally speaking thanks and yet how easy it is to skip over. Today, we’re going to uncover why gratitude is better than a diet and how to get started today.
Many scientific studies, including research by renowned psychologists Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough, have found gratitude is one of the highest forms of healing known to man. People who consciously focus on gratitude experience greater emotional well-being and physical health than those who don’t. In fact, it’s more than just a feeling, their research has shown that people who consistently practice gratitude;
- Feel better about their lives as a whole
- Experience more significant levels of joy and happiness
- Felt optimistic about the future
- Got sick less often
- Exercised more regularly
- Had more energy, enthusiasm, determination, and focus
- Made more considerable progress toward achieving important personal goals
- Slept better and awoke feeling refreshed
- Felt stronger during trying times
- Enjoyed closer family ties
- Were more likely to help others and offer emotional support
- Experienced fewer symptoms of stress
If we link this back to health, then we know gratitude must be part of the equation. It’s essential if you want more happiness, joy, and energy. Inside today’s podcast, we dive into why gratitude is better than a diet and your challenge to start practicing gratitude today.
motivation
I’ve been fascinated lately by the complexity that we make simple practices. Take health, for instance; many of us, even the world, bottle it up into some six-step system that uproots everything you know expecting you to transform it into a completely different life. That health is a chase, a hard-fought battle that only a few will win.
But I don’t believe this was the intended purpose of health.
In fact, I think this thinking is one of the most damaging mindsets we have.
If we get to the bottom of what health is – I believe that health was a tool designed in us to allow us to live with a higher purpose — a means to live life fully. Unfortunately, the view many of us have surrounding health is one of complete and utter dependence. We have been taught the only way to get healthy is to obsess about it in some form. To uproot your life and live for it.
The problem, there is no purpose in this. It lacks substance, and maybe why many of us don’t have the motivation to get healthy or at least stay that way. Health can only come from getting outside of ourselves. Then we can fully experience what health was meant to be. A tool for something so much bigger than ourselves.
the mindset of gratitude
We are only as healthy as we think meaning health can only come from a healthy mind. And a healthy mind is built on the practice of gratitude. Of seeing life through positivity rather than negativity.
Again, it is a means of getting outside of ourselves and into something bigger.
Gratitude brings our attention to the present, which is the only place where healing can unfold. It is a fullness of heart that moves us from limitations and fear to expansion and love. The deeper we can get with gratitude, the more we can see the world and our life with the eyes of the soul, and the more harmonious everything seems to flow.
So instead of focusing on what you are not, shift your eyes to what you are.
weekly challenge
Your challenge this week is to practice daily gratitude. Maybe even make it the bookends of your day. Writing three to five things upon waking and another three to five things before bed. Push yourself not to repeat the same words as often as you can. Get outside your bounds and start to recognize all of the good in your life.
Hold yourself accountable to writing or saying three things you are grateful for in the morning and get bonus points {or healthy feelings} by doing the same thing at night.
3 ways to start practicing gratitude
There are a million different ways to practice gratitude – and honestly, the only way that will work is the one that works for you. But today, I thought it would be helpful to give you a few quick ways to start the practice of gratitude.
- Keep a gratitude journal – Part of the reason I don’t think we practice gratitude regularly is that it can be hard. It can bring up emotions about what you don’t lack or push you into a place of vulnerability. But a gratitude journal can help free the words and put them in a safe place to go back anytime you feel yourself moving to the pit of negativity.
- Take a gratitude walk – Put away the earbuds and the music and take a stroll outside. Soak in life, let your mind wander and commit to recognizing and being thankful for as many things as you can see or think.
- Post them on social media – Just like a sneeze, gratitude is contagious. Hold yourself accountable by posting your daily gratitude list on a piece of paper and posting it to social media or texting it to a friend. This is an excellent way to stay motivated and encourage someone else along the way.
Bottom line: Gratitude can change your entire outlook on life. Take time to make gratitude a part of your daily rhythm.
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