Americans have labelled November as the month of gratitude. However, gratitude isn’t just for the yanks in November but an essential practice for everyone all year long!
Gratitude is insanely beneficial for your mental health. That’s a scientific fact!
One study by Emmons and Mccullogh in 2003 tasked a group of college students with recording five things they were grateful for daily for ten weeks while another group focused on their daily hassles. At the end of the study, the students in the gratitude condition reported feeling optimistic about their future and global events! Gratitude is strongly linked to happiness, and being grateful for the little things in life can turn any pessimist into an optimist with a little practice.
On top of that, gratitude can improve body image. Being grateful for your body as a vessel that brings you from place to place and lets you eat all the delicious food in the world can help you recognise that your body is a temple, not playdough to be morphed into whatever this week’s beauty standard is.
Gratitude can even make you live longer. The 2003 study also found that the students who focused on gratitude engaged in more exercise and reported fewer health conditions than their hassle headed peers. Practicing gratitude can improve sleep, boost immunity and help a healthy heart by decreasing stress.
In addition to the personal benefits, gratitude can also help you strengthen your connections with friends and family. One study even found that couples who show gratitude to each other in relationships are more likely to trust each other. Next time you’re feeling lost or disconnected from your loved ones, why not tell them how grateful you are for them!
If you want to practice gratitude but don’t know where to start, here are some tips and ideas to get you going:
1)You don’t need to have an amazing day every day to be grateful every day. Focus on the small things. Maybe you’re grateful to have a roof over your head, that you saw a cute dog on your morning run or that Taylor Swift released All Too Well (10-minute version)
2) Create a gratitude journal where you take down the things you’re grateful for every day. This is perfect to keep on track with this practice. You can even buy specific journals specifically for this, however, any old notebook or even your notes app will do.
3) Get a gratitude buddy!
Make a pact with a friend to send each other highlights every day. Seeing what someone else is grateful for can help open your mind to being appreciative about things in your life you never even thought about.
4)Keep a gratitude jar or the things you’re grateful for, to look back at at the end of the year.
5) Set a reminder on your phone for the same time every day to stop and be present and grateful for your surroundings.
Gratitude is mega important and so easy to practice. Consider adding gratitude to your self-care routine for a more fulfilling life.