5 practical ways to integrate gratitude into your day
The most beautiful way to start and end a day is with a grateful heart
We mostly feel inclined to show gratitude when we feel indebted to someone or something major has happened that we feel deserves our appreciation. Or we just utter a habitual thank you without actually meaning it.
Research shows that gratitude is one of life’s most rewarding states of being and living for the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. It is also worth noting that gratitude is one of the attitudes, scholars and spiritual leaders throughout history have encouraged humans to practice because of if its spiritual benefits but recent scientific studies have proved the health benefits of expressing gratitude to be many, and some even surprising.
So how does gratitude help us?
Practicing gratitude helps us focus on the good that is currently in our lives, gives us hope - in a more spiritual aspect for the things we desire and helps us weather the storms of life. From research gratitude is known to help us cultivate better relationships to ourselves and others, improves our health, our sleep, our tolerance to stress, decrease our focus on materialistic things, improves our outlook on life and feel more optimistic when life happens, which it will.
Practicing gratitude however doesn’t mean that you are always on a positive high because as humans it is impossible to always be positive but when it is a part of your habitual practices it helps your focus and appreciate the good in unpleasant situations. So in a situation where I wake up to a rainy day and my car won’t start, I can choose to be angry at the weather and my car in which case I have no control over both.
So actually all I am achieving is exerting stress on myself physically and emotionally thereby starting the day off on the wrong foot. Or I can chose to see it as an opportunity to get my car serviced and acknowledge the fact that I have the opportunity to catch the bus or train, it’s raining because the plants and farmers need it, I am able to see, feel and hear the rain etc.
It’s really a choice for us to focus on the things working and thereby not worrying over things that can and are going wrong, which are currently out of our control. So this brings us to how to integrate this into our lives.
When and how to practice gratitude:
There is no general rule or best way to practice this. I believe gratitude is more than saying a thank you, for me gratitude is the act of showing kindness, appreciation for all that we have, experience, want and are and simply taking time to focus on all the positives in our lives. No one is born with a gratitude gene but it is a quality that can be learned and practiced by everyone, at anytime and everywhere with an open mind.
You need not wait for big moments or being indebted to someone to show gratitude. Only focusing on these will indeed limit the moments we can show appreciation for all that is happening to and around us in our lives because these moments may differ from person to person. Gratitude can be practiced in different ways and as a coach, who has been practicing this for some years now, I will encourage mixing your routine and process up so that it doesn’t become boring or feel like a chore to do.
Before I start a new month I normally will ask these questions - “What have I received from __?”, “What have I given to __?”, and “What troubles and difficulty have I caused?” and journal my answers before I set the intention for the month. Here are five fun ways to practice gratitude.
Keep a gratitude jar or as I have a Feel Good Box.
This is a box where I have notes of gratitude that I have written, things/tokens that I have received and signs and symbols that assure me of God/the Universe having my back.
Write a gratitude letter and post
Writing a surprised letter of gratitude and posting this - yes actually pen writing a letter and posting is one other form to add to your routine.
Leave a gratitude note for a stranger at the supermarket
Write a post-it note of encouragement and leave it somewhere a stranger will find to read. Yes this is you giving but you have to remember to be in a good place to give is you acknowledging the good around you and showing kindness.
Choose a gratitude symbol
A symbol that reminds you every time to say thank you even if there isn’t anything specific in mind.
Send a gratitude text.
Send a text to a friend/family showing appreciation for them just like the letter but as a text.
With this in mind I hope that you have some ideas as to integrating gratitude as part of your routine and how you can make it more fun.
So what are some of the ways and ideas you use in your gratitude practices? Share your thoughts in a comment below.
Journal Prompt:
What or who am I grateful for today?
Love every bit of this. Great job.