Habits That Have Changed My Life: Gratitude
Gratitude has seriously changed my life. I’m much more appreciative of my circumstances and happier in general. My mental health is much more stable when I practice it and it allows me to be fully present and savour the moment! I want to help you take advantage of this awesome habit as well.
Send me some Gratitude Prompts!
Here are some scientifically-proven benefits of practising gratitude. I’ll link all of my sources in the description if you’re curious to learn more:
1. Improved mental health and mental strength
You become much more appreciative of your reality and stop focusing on toxic thoughts and emotions. This helps you become much happier and resilient.
2. Improved physical health
Researchers have found that people who practise gratitude on a regular basis, have had a lower rate of visits to physicians and also took much better care of their health.
3. Improved self-esteem
Because you focus on what you have and not on what you lack, it does wonders for your self-image and self-esteem.
4. Creating stronger relationships and bonds
Expressing gratitude about people around us makes us more appreciative of having them in our lives – whether we tell them about it or even if we just keep it to ourselves. Telling them about our gratitude towards them makes them feel all warm and fuzzy inside, which is nice – and apparently it makes people more comfortable at communicating more freely too!
5. Better sleep
According to a study published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being, practising gratitude before bed may also help you with getting better sleep!
The list of benefits goes on and, in fact, researchers found that practising gratitude may have a snowball effect on the way it positively affects our brain!
If you’ve never practised it before, it’s very easy: think of something you are grateful for and write it down. You can also do it in your head by pausing and really feeling grateful – we will talk about that in a minute, for now, let’s focus on a regular daily practice.
I write 5 statements of gratitude every day. Here are some examples:
I’m grateful for the opportunities I have in life
My friends and family are amazing and I’m so grateful for them
I’m grateful to be in Chile with the person I love
It’s a habit for me at this point, it’s part of my morning routine. I’ve created a video about my morning routine. I do it daily and it’s making me so much happier and stronger. I also used gratitude when doing my reflections for the past year!
Try finding some time when you can do it daily. Maybe in the morning when you wake up or maybe just before you go to bed. Just write 5 gratitude statements, to begin with. You can always deepen this practice later. Writing gratitude statements can be about your past and present (which will make you more appreciative and happy) or about your future – which will make you more optimistic and hopeful).
And if you need some ideas for this exercise, I’ve created some gratitude prompts you can use. Download that FREE PDF below!
Send me some Gratitude Prompts!
In fact, here’s a prompt right now, comment below one trait or skill that you have that you are grateful for! Write it as a gratitude statement: “I’m grateful for …”
You see, it’s so easy and feels pretty good. So try to make this practice a daily habit. And if you need some help with habit formation, I have a video on that too!
Once that becomes a habit, I recommend making this practice second nature in your everyday life. Recognise moments and gestures that you are truly grateful for. Express that gratitude in your head or out loud and really experience that sensation of warmth and joy.
I’m extremely grateful for this exercise and the effects it has on me. I hope you experience the same benefits from it! Let me know if you’ve practices gratitude before in the comments.
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