Being thankful can make you happier!

 

Gratitude is one of many positive emotions. It's about focusing on what's good in our lives and being thankful for the things we have. Gratitude is pausing to notice and appreciate the things that we often take for granted, like having a place to live, food, clean water, friends, family, even computer access.

The word gratitude is derived from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness. In positive psychology research, 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.

Gratitude is a way for people to appreciate what they have instead of always reaching for something new in the hopes it will make them happier or thinking they can't feel satisfied until every physical and material need is met. Gratitude helps people refocus on what they have instead of what they lack. And, although it may feel contrived at first, this mental state grows stronger with use and practice.

Many a times when we just practice gratitude for the sake of it then we can’t actually experience the positive changes that it brings and we feel that all this doesn’t actually help but it’s just bookish. In today’s world, comparison is one of the biggest reasons for anxiety and depression. With social media taking over a major chunk of our lives, people only post about events and activities in which they are happy and which makes them look good. Seldom someone posts anything which they are unhappy about, makes them feel angry or other negative emotions. This only creates a good picture and people who are addicted to comparing their lives with others start feeling inadequate.

When these people truly start practicing gratitude, focusing on the blessings they have, they can easily come out of depression and anxiety. Being a psychologist, I have seen this trending specially in young children and teenagers, where they are constantly stalking their exes or comparing their lives with their friends who might be more privileged than them. When we started working on the Attitude of Gratitude with these kids, we could see how they start focusing on their strengths, their friends and family who love and support them. They can then realize their uniqueness and understand how each person is blessed with a something special. When we start focusing on our talents and skills, we eventually start loving and enjoying our life. Then there is no more need for comparison and thus bye bye anxiety and depression.

Similarly, often the most taken for granted is our body. Our body is the biggest reason we are able to do activities and enjoy our life the way we wish to. But have we ever thought of thanking our body for being so supportive? We rather abuse it, drag it to finish our targets, but completely forget to thank ones our work is done. So many times our body gives us signals through aches, dis-eases, discomfort it experiences and so on. But do we ever sit with ourselves and try to connect with our body, asking what is the discomfort about? Our bodies are truly the best feedback devices, if only we pause and connect to them. So, inculcating a habit of thanking our body will show you wonders, who wouldn’t have imagined being possible.

Ways to cultivate gratitude

Here are some ways to cultivate gratitude on a regular basis.

Write a Thank-You note. You can make yourself happier and nurture your relationship with another person by writing a thank you letter or email expressing your enjoyment and appreciation of that person's impact on your life. Send it, or better yet, deliver and read it in person if possible. Make a habit of sending at least one gratitude letter a month. Once in a while, write one to yourself.

Thank someone mentally. No time to write? It may help just to think about someone who has done something nice for you, and mentally thank the individual.

Keep a Gratitude Journal. Make it a habit to write down or share with a loved one thought about the gifts you've received each day.

Count your Blessings. Pick a time every week to sit down and write about your blessings — reflecting on what went right or what you are grateful for. Sometimes it helps to pick a number — such as three to five things — that you will identify each week. As you write, be specific and think about the sensations you felt when something good happened to you.

Pray. People who are religious can use prayer to cultivate gratitude.

Meditate. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing on the present moment without judgment. Although people often focus on a word or phrase (such as "peace"), it is also possible to focus on what you're grateful for (the warmth of the sun, a pleasant sound, etc.).

So, whenever you practice gratitude, feel it with all your heart, rather than making it a task for yourself. Whenever we do anything in which we truly believe, it definitely reaps fruits for us. Universe starts showering you with more blessings, when we start appreciating and valuing what we get.