The power of gratitude

“It’s not happiness that brings us gratitude. It’s gratitude that brings us happiness.”

The holidays are a great time of year to remember everything we are thankful for. Expressing gratitude has been shown to improve your well being both physically and mentally. People with a regular gratitude practice often report improved self esteem, better sleep, improved relationships and improved psychological and physical health.

Introduce a gratitude practice.

There are many ways to introduce a gratitude practice into your daily life. One way that I recommend is to pick out a journal or notebook you love and keep it by your bed. Every night before you go to sleep, write a list of 3 things you are grateful for that day. It doesn’t need to be complicated, just whatever comes to mind. Writing these things down right before you go to sleep helps to subtly shift your focus and thought patterns which can improve your quality of sleep.

Building new habits.

Studies show it takes on average 66 days to build a new habit. So be patient with yourself as you introduce a new habit or ritual into your life. I challenge you to start and commit to a daily gratitude practice and notice if anything shifts for you. Notice the way it makes you feel to reflect on the things you are grateful for. This is a great time to introduce this habit as you finish off the year, and begin the new year.

I was recently introduced to another fun and uplifting ritual you may consider trying. Reflect on the following three questions daily at dinner time or possibly before you go to sleep as well. If you live with someone, maybe try asking each other these questions out loud and sharing your answers with each other.

What have you done today to make someone else happy?

What has somebody else done today to make you happy?

What have you learned?

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” - Melody Beattie