Searching for Gratitude

Gratitude is a word most of us don’t use too often.

If you’re Canadian, you may have used it a few weekends ago as you sat down with your friends, family, and a great big turkey.  If you’re American, you have another week or so before you’re urged to focus on thankfulness.

But what if we actually took the time to be thankful? What if we felt and expressed gratitude on a daily basis?

How could our lives change? How would our communication improve?

If I were to guess, I’d say that a lot of the stresses we face in life, a lot of the conflicts we have with people, a lot of the breakdowns in communication could be solved, or at least helped, if we strove to be a little more thankful.

If you’re reading this you have reasons to be thankful – reasons you may not think about everyday:

• You have eyes that work (or the technology to convert these words to sound or touch).
• You are literate – which means you were educated – not everyone is.
• You have electricity.

Those are just a few.

Take a moment and think of what else you could be thankful for. If you find that hard, try again. Search for gratitude.

What did you come up with?

Focus on those things and your life, and communication, will get better.

Why?

Because a thankful person is a happier person, and as a happier person you’re bound to have more positive interactions with the people around you.

If you’re not convinced, here are my favourite benefits of an attitude of gratitude.

1. Leads to an overall improvement in mental health and well being. (According to the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology)
2. Helps you cope better when life gets hard.
3. Makes you healthier. (Religiously popping immune support pills? – Boost your health with a dose of gratitude instead)
4. Reduces stress (which could also help you lose weight! – Google ‘cortisol, stress, and weight gain’ if you don’t believe me)
5. Improves self-esteem and self-worth (by focusing on the positives about yourself and your life).

And now, if you’re convinced it’s a good idea to count your blessings but are not sure where to start, watch this video. I bet it’ll help you relax for a moment and just be thankful.

* If you’re pressed for time start watching at 4:25

If you really want to delve deeper into what else gratitude can do for you (with nifty graphs and pictures) check out this article from happierhuman.com.

Thanks for reading!

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