Learn how practicing gratitude daily can have a significant emotional impact on your life and improve your mental health and relationships. Discover effective ways to practice gratitude and improve your quality of life. It can be very easy.
The power of gratitude
Gratitude is a positive emotion you feel when you recognize and appreciate what you have in your life. Practicing gratitude on a daily basis can have a significant emotional impact on our life; from appreciating the little details you didn’t notice before to realizing the simple fact of breathing and being alive: what really matters.
Gratitude has the ability to change our focus and perspective on life. When we are grateful, we focus on the positive and not the negative. This can help us see things more clearly and find solutions in times of difficulty. Daily gratitude, even in small steps, can be transformative. Every day I try to think of something, however insignificant it may seem, that makes me feel grateful. For example: Today, I cooked eggs and they were perfect. I am grateful for that!
In addition, practicing gratitude can help us develop stronger and more meaningful relationships with
others. When we express gratitude, we show appreciation and respect for others, which can improve the quality of our relationships. I have tried to implement the trick of changing "forgiveness" for "thank you" in my personal relationships and (especially with my boyfriend) this has had a transcendental impact. Instead of saying, "I’m sorry for bothering you with my problems," I say, "Thank you for listening to me," and when I say it, I’m sorry. I let myself be overwhelmed by a feeling of gratitude and this impacts my relationship in a positive and powerful way.
Practicing gratitude can also have an impact on our mental health. Gratitude can help reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. When we are grateful, we are more focused on the positive and less likely to worry about the future or be overwhelmed by the past. When you constantly focus on the negative, your mind goes into preservation and defense mode: you are more prone to anxiety, stress, intrusive thoughts and even depression. As cliché as it sounds, it’s true:
"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change"
How to practice daily gratitude
There are many ways to practice gratitude daily. One of the simplest ways is to keep a gratitude journal, where you write things for which you feel grateful every day. If you consider this possibility, my advice is: don’t push yourself. Just thank you for a nice climate. Many people who set themselves the goal of keeping a gratitude journal hope to be able to write whole paragraphs about gratitude from the very beginning. This is not only unrealistic, but extremely difficult. What many people don’t tell you is that gratitude, like any skill, is built with practice. Start small and be patient. It is something similar to developing a new way of seeing the world or even learning a new language: the language of gratitude.
Gratitude can also be expressed to important people in our lives, either verbally or in writing. If it’s something you struggle to do, start small. A simple "thank you for coming" can be powerful. The same goes for "thank you for listening to me". They are simple words of deep impact. If, on the other hand, you’re someone who has trouble openly expressing her emotions, there’s no problem. Start by writing what you appreciate from the people around you and if you want, you don’t have to share it with them. " I appreciate the way my mom hugs me, ""I thank my boyfriend the way he takes care of me". Every act of gratitude, even if not shared, has a great impact on our lives.
Meditation and reflection can also be an effective way to practice gratitude daily. Meditating is not always easy, so apps like Balance, Headspace and Calm can help you master this practice. It is important not to fall into the mistake of believing that meditation is just "emptying your mind". Simply put, it is impossible to control our thoughts, and I doubt there are many people on the planet (except some monks and some shaman) who can clear their minds of all thoughts and have their minds completely blank. Meditating is to silence the distractions around you and concentrate on what happens inside. Observe your inner dialogue. What does your body feel? What does it do? What thoughts present themselves? I usually meditate looking at trees and birds. My mind is definitely not blank, but I allow myself to sit quietly and concentrate on the glow of the leaves, on my favorite birds, on the flowers of the bushes... and I thank for that. I give infinite thanks for being able to sit in the middle of this and that’s enough. That’s meditation for me.
Diferenciar la gratitud de la positividad tóxica
It is important to differentiate gratitude as a habit from gratitude as toxic positivity. I think the "thank you" speech has been normalized for everything that happens to us, whether its traumatic or painful. When faced with a challenge or tragedy we say "everything happens for something, be thankful it was not worse", we may have the best intentions in mind, but we are invalidating the painful experience and its inherently challenging burden. To practice gratitude, you don’t have to be grateful for everything. You don’t have to look for the good side of everything that happens to you. One should not give thanks for events that are simply painful. Not everything should be a lesson to be thankful for.
In short, gratitude is a powerful emotion that can have a significant emotional impact on our life. By practicing gratitude daily, we can change our perspective, strengthen our relationships, and improve our mental health. There are many ways to practice gratitude, and finding the one that works best for everyone can be an effective way to improve our quality of life.
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