Gratitude is not just for happy people. Gratitude is not something you find when you’re life all comes together into a neat little package.
Gratitude is for the hard times, more importantly that ever.
I discovered the deep level respect for a gratitude practice during a low time in my life. Without that realisation, I don’t know how else I would’ve pulled myself out of the negativity, toxic emotional highs and lows and anxiety that I was experiencing in my every day life.
So how does gratitude release us from toxic thoughts and emotions?
Studies have shown that it isn’t an increase of positive thoughts and emotions that increases mental health, but the lack of negative thoughts. This to me suggests that it’s a matter of quantity and crowding out. If we are thinking more about gratitude for all we have an experience in our lives, we have less time, space and effort for the negativity.
This all goes back to something I discussed on my Instagram post last week, which was brought to my attention by the beautiful Corina Harris at a leadership retreat I attended a few months back. Our language is so important to our mental state of mind that it is completely necessary for us to focus on minimising the words in our vocabuary that evoke negative feelings.
Now, I’m always looking for ways to add more gratitude into my life and that of my loved ones (that means you, beautiful), so I wanted to give you some new, fresh and exciting ways to express and experience gratitude!
WRITE A LETTER
Even one that you don’t intend on sending. I know that simply the act of remembering and reliving your thankfulness for a person charges up the same hormones as when that feeling was happening in real time. Get our a pen and paper - it’s so beautiful to write with pen or pencil - and sit with your thoughts of gratitude for another person for a few short minutes and write them a letter of gratitude. Even send it snail mail if you’re feeling romantic!
CREATE A GROUP CHALLENGE
The effects of gratitude are seemingly instant, but the real benefits do take time and regular deposits into your gratitude bank will pay you over the long run. I find that around the month mark of my clients testing out a gratitude practice is when they start telling me that they feel happier day to day, even when not remembering to write in their journals or do their evening gratitudes.
Why not get some girlfriends together and commit to a month of Gratitude. We’re actually starting Gratitude month in the Health Hub with over 9000 other health minded people, I obviously am over the moon with excitement about this!
GIVE SOME GRATITUDE FOR THE PLANET
I have immense gratitude for where I live in Australia. I’m extremely safe, privileged with incredible weather year round and stunning beaches a quick minute walk from my door. It has become something new for me to really take the time to give back to Mother Earth in ways that fit beautifully into my day. This could look like simply making it my mission to pick up a single scrap of rubbish at the very least per day or to use my reusable shopping bags and say no to plastic when at the shops. These little acts that I don’t declare to the world or my closest are really just for me and I aim to do them as much as possible. Showing gratitude for my environment gives me joy on a subtle level, but it all counts to me.
So what can you do to add more gratefulness into you life starting right now? I want to know, in the comments below, what it is that fits seemly into your life and allows you to be grateful.
Thank you for sharing, beautiful!
