MEANINGFUL LIFE COACHING

Tis the season to practice gratitude.

In many countries over the world, people have celebrated Thanksgiving Day on Thursday, November 24^th, 2022. Also, on December 25^th, 2022, most of the world will celebrate Christmas Day. Usually during these holidays, a greater emphasis it placed on the act of showing kindness and thankfulness to others whether it be family members, friends, co-workers, community helpers and so on. Even though there is a greater effort to show gratitude during this time of year, positive psychology research has proven that gratitude is strongly associated with the emotions that can help you enjoy more significant health and happiness. It has also been shown that gratitude plays an essential role in nurturing relationships and can even inspire you to take better care of yourself. Therefore, developing an attitude of gratitude year-round will have tremendous benefits for your life.

For the remaining two blogs of 2022, I will present a series on the benefits of gratitude in our lives and how it can help us to experience the fulfillment and success we desire to be the best we can be. I will talk about the ways to cultivate gratitude in your life, how to start and keep a gratitude journal, and how to harness the benefits of gratitude. Make sure you subscribe to my blog to be alerted when new blogs are posted.

Developing an attitude of gratitude can improve your mental health and make you happier in your life in the following ways:

Increased Happiness

When you incorporate gratitude into your daily life, you will have a more positive outlook, and you will be more appreciative of everyday things. You will be less likely to take things for granted and will be more inclined to be moved by the little things. With gratitude, your moods won’t be affected by disappointment, and you’ll be better able to see the bright side of life rather than focusing on what you lack.

Greater Life Satisfaction

Those you practice daily gratitude tend to be less materialistic and more hopeful in life. They are also more likely to have greater resilience and less likely to feel like they’re a victim when things don’t happen to go their way. Being able to cope better with tragedies and crisis, can help to improve your quality and experiences you have in life.

Better Mental and Physical Health

Research has proven that when you live with gratitude, you are less likely to suffer from anxiety and depression. With daily gratitude, people tend to be more optimistic and enjoy an increase in energy. Gratitude also has a positive effect on cardiovascular health and immune health and has been shown to effectively lower blood pressure, increase pain tolerance, and have a positive impact on pregnancy. 

Increased Self-Esteem

Those who experience heartfelt gratitude in their lives have higher levels of happiness and far greater self-esteem and confidence. Being grateful focuses your attention on happier, more positive thoughts which can help you to feel better about yourself and help you to banish negative self-talk.

Higher Levels of Success

Those with a grateful disposition have been shown to be more likely to achieve their goals faster. Those who hold managerial positions report that showing genuine appreciation and thanking their colleagues improve productivity and motivation.

More Patience

Researchers at Northeastern University have found that people who felt grateful for the little everyday things in their lives were more patient and better able to make sensible decisions, compared to those who didn’t feel thankful on a daily basis.

Improved Sleep

Feeling grateful can help you sleep better and for longer. This is most likely because you have more positive thoughts before you go to sleep, which can help to soothe the nervous system. If you are going to make a daily gratitude list, or keep a gratitude journal, studies have shown that it is best to do this right before bed.

Go here to grab your copy of the Meaningful Life Coaching Signature Journal to help you keep a daily gratitude list.

Eases Depression

Gratitude is powerful. Recent studies have shown that by practicing the “three good things” exercise daily, you can see considerable improvements in depression and overall happiness, sometimes in as little as a few weeks. The activity prompts you to think of three good things or moments that happened during the day.

Gives You Happiness that Lasts

Numerous things can give you a boost of happiness, from a compliment to a sugary treat. Unfortunately, these kinds of instant gratification can quickly disappear and leave you craving more. Gratitude, on the other hand, is something that can lead to a much more sustainable form of happiness because it isn’t based in that immediate gratification, but rather a state of mind. If you take the time to regularly express gratitude and thankfulness for the things in your life, you are more than likely to see long-lasting happiness.

It Can Get You Out of a Foul Mood

Rather than getting mad at someone, show gratitude for them instead. This isn’t always going to be easy to do because it is a significant switch of attitudes. If someone makes you mad, rather than getting angry at them, focus instead on those things that make you grateful. Doing this can slowly change your mood. Showing your gratitude toward someone rather than anger will not only improve your mood, but it can change your relationship and make things better.

It Can Transform Your Relationship

Feeling grateful toward your partner, and vice versa can improve numerous aspects of your relationship, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Theoretical Social Psychology. This includes stronger feelings of connectedness and overall satisfaction as a couple. Being grateful for each other can significantly help your love life. While it is always important to talk out your problems with your spouse or significant other, criticizing them all the time will quickly deteriorate your relationship. Instead, when you find yourself feeling the urge to criticize them, stop and take a deep breath, and calm down. Start to think about all the reasons you are grateful for your partner, then share your gratitude with them as soon as possible. Showing your gratitude will help to make your relationship stronger.

It Can Improve Your Parenting Skills

Many parents get frustrated with their kids. Unfortunately, many parents also communicate their frustrations to their kids too often, leaving their kids to feel bad about themselves. Rather than continually criticizing take a moment to calm down and think of all the ways you are grateful for your children. Share these reasons with your children and take the opportunity to teach them, rather than criticizing them. You’ll both be better for it.

It Can Help You Better Deal with Tragedy

When you suffer a tragedy, try to be grateful for the life that you still have. Facing disasters in your life can be crippling if you let them overcome you. While you still want to grieve, you can also take away something even more significant from the tragedy, the gratitude for the life you still have. Love for the people you still have in your life, and appreciation for the fleeting beauty of life. Take the opportunity to show appreciation for those in your life and enjoy your life while you can.

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Gratitude doesn’t take a lot of fancy equipment to practice but can significantly change your life. By taking just a few minutes a day to show your thanks can have substantial benefits on both your mental and physical health. Being grateful isn’t always easy, but without it, life can be incredibly lonely, depressing, and impoverished. Showing gratitude can energize, elevate, inspire, transform, and enrich your life. Finding ways to incorporate gratitude into your life will change it for the better.