Hi and welcome to today's talk about gratitude.
To begin,
I would like to share with you a quote about gratitude that beautifully captures its importance in our lives and in the world around us now more than ever.
This quote comes from Robert A.
Emmons,
A professor of psychology at UC Davis and an expert on the science of gratitude.
And he says,
Gratitude seems like such a small simple concept that it's easy to overlook just how meaningful and powerful it really is.
So we're going to spend a little time now looking at the science of gratitude to motivate you to make gratitude a lifelong practice if you have not already done so.
And if you have,
I hope this is this will help to strengthen your current gratitude practice.
Now we benefit emotionally,
Socially,
Professionally,
Physically,
Even our personality benefits all from gratitude.
Emotionally,
Gratitude helps us to feel happier,
Increases our psychological well-being,
Enhances our positive emotions,
And increases our self-esteem.
Socially,
Gratitude improves our romantic relationships,
It improves our friendships,
Increases our social support system,
And strengthens family relationships in times of stress.
Like I said earlier,
Gratitude also benefits our personality,
Our career,
And our physical health.
Personality-wise,
Gratitude helps us to be more optimistic.
It increases our spirituality.
It helps us to be more giving and it makes us less materialistic.
Gratitude can benefit our career because it helps to make for more effective managers.
It helps us to find meaningful work and also to find meaning in our work.
It contributes to less turnover and improves our work-related mental health and stress.
And last but not least,
Physically,
Gratitude reduces depressive symptoms,
Reduces blood pressure,
Improves sleep,
Increases our frequency of exercise,
And improves our overall health and well-being.
Now gratitude isn't just reserved for the Thanksgiving season.
Feeling grateful can shift our perspective and boost our mood whenever we want.
There are a multitude of ways that we can incorporate gratitude in our daily lives.
So we're going to talk about 12 ways to practice gratitude.
Number one,
Write it down.
Develop a daily habit of writing down a few things that you can be grateful for to start and or end your day on a positive note.
And when you write it down,
I'm going to encourage you to do one extra step to take this to the next level.
Write down what you're grateful for and also include why you are grateful for that particular person,
Situation,
Thing,
Whatever that may be.
Here's just a small example of how to do that.
You may write down,
I'm grateful for my job,
But then add this part.
I am grateful for my job because it provides me with financial stability.
It provides me with health care to take care and prioritize my physical and mental health and well-being.
Whatever that is.
So just again,
Write it down but then add the because or the why to really make it more impactful.
So number one,
Write it down.
Number two,
Be grateful for the little things.
There are plenty of little things to be grateful for each day.
A great cup of coffee or tea,
The sound of birds singing in the morning,
A smile from a stranger,
A kind word from a loved one,
And so on.
All of these can uplift your mood.
So be grateful for the little things.
Number three,
Go for a gratitude walk.
This is a fantastic way to get out of your head and your house or office.
Look for things that you can be grateful for while taking a walk.
A beautiful tree,
A child playing in their yard,
A friendly dog,
Or a nice cool breeze are all things you could choose to feel gratitude for while outside on your walk.
So going for a gratitude walk.
Number four,
Avoid making comparisons.
Be grateful for people,
Things,
And circumstances exactly as they are without making any comparisons or any judgments.
So avoid making comparisons.
Number five,
Tell people you're thankful.
Let people know specifically what you're grateful for when thanking them.
Whether it's your colleague for being so supportive or the cashier at the store for their excellent service,
Tell them thank you.
And just like in the gratitude journal where we took it up a notch by saying why we were grateful for that particular person or place or thing that we mentioned in our journal,
Same concept holds true for number five,
Telling people you're thankful.
Add the because.
Thank you for having my coffee ready so quickly so I wasn't late for work this morning.
For your colleague,
Thank you for helping me on this project.
You made it so much more enjoyable and I learned so much from you.
Letting people know that you appreciate them and then adding specifically why,
It makes it just so much more meaningful for them and even for you.
So tell people you're thankful and why you're thankful.
Number six,
I'm a little partial to because I have two cats,
But number six is enjoy your pet.
Pets give us plenty of reasons to feel gratitude.
So give your pet some extra attention and affection which will leave you both feeling really really good.
But being grateful for everything that your pet adds to your life,
Whether it's companionship,
Unconditional love,
Whatever that may be,
Take a moment to just give thanks to them for everything that they bring to your life.
So enjoying your pet and giving thanks for them.
Number seven,
Donate your time,
Talent and resources.
Invest in charities and causes that make the world a better place.
Volunteer at an animal shelter.
Donate money to a shelter for people who are experiencing homelessness.
Participate in a community project such as Habitat for Humanity.
Volunteering and giving back to others does as much for the giver as it does for the receiver and you'll both be grateful for it.
So donating your time,
Talent and resources.
Number eight,
Have gratitude for yourself.
What are you grateful for when you look at yourself?
Identify your strengths,
Everything that makes you uniquely who you are and what you love about yourself.
Thank yourself for being the one and only you.
So have gratitude for yourself.
Number nine,
Write a positive review for a business you appreciate.
Business owners appreciate positive reviews and feedback,
Especially in an era where I feel like we are more likely to let someone know when we don't like something or when something doesn't go the way that we expected or in a way that was promised.
So take the time to highlight what you love about a particular business or service.
Whether again,
Write a positive review and or send a letter or note to the actual business,
But take the time to let them know you appreciate them.
Number ten,
Meditate on the things you're grateful for.
Pause to reflect on what you're most grateful for to develop an even greater appreciation for it.
Take time to breathe,
Reflect and give thanks.
Number eleven,
Minimize judging and complaining.
Now it may be obvious,
But judging and complaining are the opposite of gratitude.
Make it your goal to avoid gossiping,
Dwelling on the negative and sharing unconstructive criticism and focus on finding and sharing gratitude instead.
And finally,
Number twelve,
Be thankful at mealtimes.
Be grateful that we grateful for everything that goes into a meal.
Find thanks for everyone,
From the farmers to the person who prepared the meal,
For the process of harvesting the food and bringing it to the table and for the food itself.
Practice gratitude on a regular basis and you'll find that you actually have more and more to be grateful for each and every day.
Now during challenging times,
You may have to look really hard to find something to be grateful for and sometimes it may seem like you can't find anything at all and that's okay because there's always something to be grateful for and when you are ready it will be there waiting for you.
Now we began today's talk with a quote and as we wrap up I'd like to share one more wonderful quote about gratitude.
And this quote comes from Brother Daniel Steindl Rast and he says,
It's not happiness that makes us grateful,
Grateful it's gratefulness that makes us happy.
Thank you so much for taking some time to spend with me and thank you for taking time to invest in your own gratitude practice.
Be well.
