Wherever we are in life, it is crucial that we show gratitude to the blessings we have. It may not be easy, but being grateful for the things we have in life will bring more joy, resilience and strength even when everything goes bad. The reason is because even when we are feeling negative, gratefulness will remind us that there are things in our life that also brings us joy.
Here are things you can do to increase your sense of gratitude in life:
Create a Gratitude Journal
Journaling can be for many things: it can be to express your sorrow, express frustrations and even to express gratitude. Set a specific space for your gratitude such as a journal or phone, then put a specific time to write down what you are grateful for. It can be your loving partner, the great cup of coffee your brewed this morning or even your precious pet. No thankful thought is too small or insignificant.
Volunteer in Your Local Community
To get more, you give more. For some people, the key to feeling more gratitude is to give back to others in their local community. It allows you to feel gratitude, even towards the things you take for granted. Studies have even shown that volunteering to help others helps increase our well-being, making us feel more gratitude for our state of health.
Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is also another method that can make you more grateful. Spare some time during your busy schedule to sit down and think of five to ten things you are grateful for. By picturing the things you are grateful for and sitting with the feeling of gratitude in your body, you will be rewiring your brain to become more grateful and happier. A study has even shown that it merely takes eight weeks of gratitude practice for people to show signs of changed brain patterns, leading to greater empathy and happiness.
Know The Difference Between Wants and Needs
At times, people can confuse between what you want vs what you need in your life. For feelings of gratitude, you must learn to understand the differences between both of them. We all have things we want, but the truth is we already have the things we need. Once we realize the differences, we will become more grateful for what we have.
Express Your Gratitude
Sometimes it’s not enough to keep gratitude to yourself. As been said before, the more you give, the more you get. Spreading the feeling of gratefulness can increase their level of happiness, along with your level of happiness. A study on happiness by Soul Pancake has revealed that people who show their gratefulness to others on letters report an increase of 2%-4% happiness, while those who make a phone call report an increase of 4%-19%.
Doing Activities That Make You Happy
When you are feeling grateful, you feel happier. It can also work the other way, in which being happy makes you feel more grateful. For that reason, we highly recommend that you do the things to get your mood up such as exercising or participating in a hobby you enjoy. Once the endorphins flow into your systems, showing gratitude will become even easier and you’ll have more things in your life to be thankful for.
Which tip from above are you planning to do? Tell us in the comments section below!
