Practice Gratitude for Your Heart, Your Head, and Your Health

“Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.”  ~unknown

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving here in the US, so of course I can’t miss an opportunity to talk about the power of gratitude...

Research has shown that practicing gratitude regularly has a positive impact on not only your happiness and sense of well-being, but it actually has a positive effect on your health too. That’s pretty amazing for something that doesn’t require anything more than some effort. No magic pill, no money needed, just a commitment to pause every day, be present and choose gratitude.

Which is why I started a gratitude practice for myself years ago where each day I journal about what I am grateful for. And I truly believe that as a result of keeping this simple practice going throughout the years, it’s transformed me into a more positive and hopeful person on the inside and it’s made me into a kinder and more thoughtful person to others. Interestingly enough, I now have moments all the time where I notice something or someone and just pause in that moment to be thankful then I make a mental note to write it in my gratitude journal later. These simple practices bring me so much joy and if there happens to be a person on the other end of my thanks or praise, they get to feel that joy too.

Yet sadly, so many people go through their days with their heads down, in their own world of negativity and lack. Or they just take life for granted because they are so busy focused on the next task of to-dos that they are unconscious to being present in the moment they are currently living. Which leads to missing out on some pretty amazing things, including interactions with others.

I admit, I can be guilty of the latter. I get in a rush to get things done and sometimes forget to take time to look around and see all I have to be thankful for or even make eye contact with another person. (I mean, have you ever zoomed through the grocery store on a mission to get what you need and get out? Only looking up to acknowledge someone because they happen to be standing in front of the very thing you went into the store to get.)

Nonetheless, everything we do improves when we make a conscious commitment to work at it. Which is why I am committed to practicing gratitude regularly and I’d like to invite you to make your own commitment or re-commit to a practice of gratitude. Journaling is something I encourage many of my clients to do and they’ve found it to be very helpful, especially during difficult times in their lives. But if that doesn’t seem like it’s for you right now, that’s okay. Find your own way to practice gratitude. Be present and look for reasons to be grateful. Start lifting your eyes up to see the people and beauty around you then quietly pause and be thankful. Or better yet, share that gratitude with others.

Just think… What if the next time you went to the grocery store you looked around and paused to be thankful for all the food at your fingertips. Then showed kindness and gratitude to the people who’d made the effort to get it there for you. Would your experience at the store be different? Most definitely!

Practicing gratitude truly is something that can have a positive impact on your life and the lives of those you share it with. It's good for your heart, it's good for your head and yes, it's even good for your health.

I firmly believe that the more you practice gratitude, the more reasons you will have to be grateful and the greater joy you’ll know in your life. So go and be grateful... I am grateful for you! 

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