You must know already that the people who are grateful in life are simply the happier folks of the lot. You will even agree to the fact that even when everything is smooth and breezy you still easily get cranky. We many times actively look for things to complain about and then later at the end of the day complain about the constant stress we face.
Being emotionally sound and content most of the time has a lot of physiological benefits. Researchers say that people who nurture positive thoughts have better functioning hearts. Therefore, knowing how your thoughts can influence one of the most important organs of your body. The question is how can we feel more content and happier viz-a-viz more grateful with our everyday life.
The following are 5 easy steps that can help you have more gratitude in day to day life:
Start writing a gratitude journal
Know that your brain is not the right place where you can list all the things you are grateful for. Invest in a small notebook or buy a journal. Set aside a particular time, maybe add it in your daily routine or right before going to bed. List down all the things you are grateful for, it could be a friend’s warm gesture towards you or a job promotion. Make sure you write something in that notebook every day, even when you do not see anything to be grateful for. We consider a plethora of things as a given truth of our lives. Things like a roof over our head, food on our plate, and clothes that we have on our body. We consider it to be there for us, but for a large chunk of people out there, it is not the case.
Greet more often
Small gestures like saying thank you more often can be transforming. Telling people how much importance they hold in your life. Trust me on this, no matter who the person may be, everyone loves to be appreciated. The smile or the gesture you get in return will itself be enough to make you feel content and happier. You can say it to your dad, mom, best friend and even the steward who attends you every time you visit your favourite restaurant. This way you just make the other person’s day at the same time reminding yourself of the people who support you through thick and thin.
Practice Mindfulness
Being mindful of what is happening in and outside our body, is a huge step towards being grateful. Make sure you take some time out every day and think of 5 to 10 things you are grateful for. The trick is to visualize each and everything you are grateful for and sit on those thoughts for some time. If you practice this for some time. Your brain will be rewired to be more grateful automatically without you having to put any kind of effort. It is said that it takes just eight weeks of practice to start reflecting changed brain patterns that lead to more happiness.
Volunteer
To a lot of people out there happiness and the feeling of gratitude comes from helping others. It could be giving back to your local community or being a part of any volunteer group. There are a large number of studies that say that volunteering to help people helps your own well being and the ability to be more grateful. Another research conducted by a professor from the University of Pennsylvania studied all the variables that can affect the happiness and well-being of individuals. The research concluded that out of all the variables, volunteering is the most reliable variable that showed an increase in momentary well-being. So, always remember that helping others helps you.
Don’t appreciate things selectively
This is the reason why most people fail to make gratitude a sustainable habit. Remember not to save your gratitude for the “Big” events of your life. Most of us show gratitude for big events of our lives, but what makes a big difference is spotting those small things from day to day life. Knowing there is nothing too small for you to be thankful for itself is a big step forward. It can be appreciating the sunny weather, or how quickly your book was delivered by the courier service. Remember not to leave anything or be selective about things you are grateful for.
