Practicing Gratitude

Practicing gratitude has become popular to increase happiness and improve our mental health. Research continues to support the many benefits of creating a regular practice of gratitude. It is not something to only be done when you’re feeling at your lowest or your best. Practicing gratitude is beneficial for everyone and best when done on a consistent basis. There are a variety of reasons to include more gratitude in your life and different ways to achieve it. Take some time to understand what it means to practice gratitude and consider what the best approach might be for you.

While we will explore some of the many research supported benefits of having a gratitude practice, it is important to remember that it takes a variety of healthy skills to support good physical and emotional health. Be mindful that the many benefits of gratitude will not appear overnight and that the focus is on changing your perspective and training your mind to think more positively. Practicing gratitude can help us to experience more positive emotions causing increased happiness and an improvement in our mood. Spending more time enjoying positive life events allows us to experience more satisfaction with life. We can become more resilient when coping with stress and trauma, and begin to see negative life events through a more positive perspective. A consistent gratitude practice can directly improve our physical health helping us feel more energized, sleep better, lower levels of cell inflammation, and develop stronger immune systems. By spending more time consciously thinking about the things you have accomplished and the positive influence of other people in your life you can improve your self esteem and help build social connections. Gratitude has been strongly and consistently shown to help support increased happiness and a sense of improved overall wellbeing.

With all of the positive benefits in mind to get you started, how can you create a gratitude practice that fits your lifestyle? Think about the different ways discussed here to practice gratitude and choose something to try out for yourself. Common ways to make a habit of practicing gratitude are keeping a gratitude journal, filling a gratitude jar, or having a gratitude conversation. Decide on a time of day that works best for you to set aside several minutes for reflection. Think about three to five things that you are grateful for at this time. Research suggests that doing this once a week is most likely to increase happiness, practicing daily may place too high of a demand, but choose a set frequency that works best for you and will help you stick to a consistent practice. Some other ways to practice gratitude could be writing a thank-you note, doing a gratitude meditation, or simply sitting down and thinking about the things in your life you consider to be a blessing. The important thing is to choose something and just get started, you can adjust your approach to better suit your needs as you go along.

As you continue to develop your gratitude practice, or perhaps become more intrigued about starting, one you may be looking for more information. Here are some more tips on creating a helpful gratitude practice. Try and be mindful of opening your eyes to the world that is around you. Making it a challenge to notice different things in your life to be grateful for can help to enhance your practice. If you find you are becoming tired of practicing one approach or you’ve simply been doing it for some time, it is beneficial to change things up. You may try journalling some weeks and talk to a friend the next. You could also change your approach by considering different areas of your life to focus on at one time such as relationships, work, or your physical surroundings. Research suggests it might be more beneficial to focus your gratitude on the people in your life who you are grateful for rather than material items. Once you begin to notice the positive effects of your gratitude practice it is most important that you continue your practice. Just like starting anything new there might be obstacles that come your way, be prepared and realistic with your approach. If time starts to pass and you have let go of your regular routine, simply get started again and continue where you left off. You can explore positivepsychology.com and gratefulness.org for more ideas and inspiration to get started.

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