Author:
Randy Alexander
Date Of Creation:
1 April 2021
Update Date:
24 June 2024
Content
It is not unreasonable that many believe that those who cultivate gratitude are happier and healthier than those who do not yet have this habit. Grateful people appreciate what they have instead of thinking about the aspects of need. They show their gratitude to others and often receive a lot of gratitude in return. They see each day as a new opportunity to embrace happiness instead of a challenge to overcome. Although many people naturally have a sense of gratitude, don't assume that you cannot cultivate it in your life. This is not easy, but you will be grateful for your efforts!
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Be grateful in the moment
Take a minute to thank life. Sometimes rest is an effective way to wind up and feel better. You will need to identify things for which you are grateful, and sometimes taking a break is also something to be grateful for.
- When you're at work or school, walk around the building or get out and get some air and silently thank you for the opportunity to rest, relax your feet and feel the sun, etc.
- Take a moment to notice the little things you are grateful for, like your morning coffee or the pillow you lie down every night.
Let someone know that you appreciate them. Often times, your busy life makes you forget to tell others how important they are to you or how much you appreciate what they do, and it means a lot to you. Thanking others nurtures and spreads gratitude gradually. For example:- If your wife prepares your lunch for you, call or text to say: “Honey, I know it's very easy to prepare lunch for you, but I thank you for always trying. help me keep busy every morning ”.
Talk to your family about gratitude. Take some time, such as dinner, to talk about the things you are grateful for for the day. Also, each family member should take turns talking about what they appreciate that day.- Make it a habit for each family member to take turns sharing and mentioning at least 1 thing of gratitude before eating.
- Try to be as specific as possible. For example, instead of saying, "I am grateful that everyone is here," you could say, "I am grateful that everyone helped me take care of the garden every weekend."
Send a note of thanks. Sending a small thank you note really means a lot. A thank you note for when others give you something (time, effort, and gifts) that they don't have to do and you appreciate their work. You do not need to write a long note to say thank you, just write a few lines to express the meaning of the gift, their time and effort for you is enough.- Text messages, emails, thank-you notes are also great for sending (and receiving), but handwritten thank-you notes are more special.
- Your thank you note can be just a note with a short message, or you can write your thank you notes on the notebook and draw more flowers or hearts.
Giving back is also a way of thanks. Gratitude can not only be expressed in words, but also through actions of giving back to the community and friends. This does not mean that you pay back for the fairness so that no one "owes" anyone. Give it away because it is a noble gesture and gives you a good feeling.
- If you know the person, help directly. For example, you could take your grandma around or help a friend move.
- If you don't know the person, continue with their good behavior. For example, you can repay someone who helped you during your college years by supporting other students.
Recognize the kindness behind what you receive. When someone treats you well - gives you gifts, brings a hot meal, volunteered to read and edits your essay - acknowledge how they strive to make your life good. They were not afraid to spend their precious time and money so they could do kind things for you.
- This recognition nurtures and spreads gratitude through your actions and words, especially when you have children.
Regularly say "thank you". Thank you the coffee seller, thank the doorkeeper for you, thank the customer service staff for helping you find the cause of your phone not working. Saying thank you can help you gain a deep sense of gratitude for your life.
- Say "thank you" as a prayer or a truth. You can either thank specific things, or keep repeating the same thank you over and over again. For example, you could thank for today's breakfast, rain for watering plants, raincoats for keeping you from getting wet, and so on.
- By cultivating gratitude (and by verbal expression), you can alleviate anger, anxiety, depression and other health problems.
- When you say thank you, look them in the eye and smile so they can feel the sincerity.
Think of reasons that make you grateful, even in times of difficulty. Sometimes it can be difficult to feel grateful for life.However, it is an important time to cultivate gratitude, as it makes it easier for you to overcome difficulties than to get angry or dissatisfied.
- To cultivate your gratitude for boring or difficult work, you can list the good things about the job: it gives you money to buy food and a place to stay, it gives you a chance to catch the bus into the city and catch the early sun, etc.
- For things like breaking up or losing a loved one, give yourself time to mourn and gnaw your sadness. Being grateful doesn't mean you will deny emotions like sadness, anger, etc.; but it simply helps you to ease those feelings. After the time of grief, make a list of the things the relationship has taught you and made you grateful, as well as thanking you for the things you got when the relationship ended.
Method 2 of 3: Develop a habit of gratitude
Write a gratitude diary. Make a note of why you are grateful each day to make a note of it in your mind. No matter how difficult your life right now, there will still be things you want to be grateful for. Finding these things will help you cope with other parts of your life.
- Write down 5 things that you are grateful for every day. It could be something as simple as "the morning sunshine", or something as simple as "getting a proposal".
- Take some time each day to reflect on the things for which you are most grateful. You will find you have more than 5 things to be grateful for.
- If you need a reminder, download the gratitude diary app for your phone to get daily notifications.
Review your gratitude diary as needed. Every time you get stuck, reviewing what you've written before can be very helpful. If you have trouble, try to be grateful for the little things.
- For example, even if you have a terminal illness, you can be grateful for things like someone cooks for food, a warm bed, or when your cat is around. These little things can make the pain of illness milder.
Find teammates on a journey of gratitude. Share your goal of fostering gratitude with a close friend or relative and ask for their help. Choose someone who makes you feel free to talk about things you are grateful for. Besides, they are also sympathetic to you when you get into the habit of complaining.
- Better yet, things should be two-way - that is, each person helps each other to become deeply grateful.
Change your view of problems. The lives of people who are grateful for what they have are not easier to breathe than you. In fact, people who are deeply grateful are people who have gone through a lot of hardship, but they understand that the situation is not the problem, but the way you think about the situation that will make it easy. more or more difficult.
- For example, if you have to work part-time to pay for college, think about the responsibility lessons your job taught you instead of regretting that you don't have free time.
Use appropriate words to describe your life. Using negative language and "labeling" can make the situation more difficult and make it difficult to express gratitude. For example, labeling "my evil" creates a more negative outlook than just saying "the disease I have". In the second example, you are not making the illness your "private property", you are also using neutral instead of negative language.
- Express your gratitude with words you use to describe life. For example, you could say "Even though I have this disease, I am grateful for the wonderful treatment and support from my family".
Take a positive outlook on yourself and others. Stoning yourself and others will make it hard to feel truly grateful. When you find yourself thinking negatively about yourself and others, stop and switch your thoughts. For example, if you think "I'm really bad at math" tell yourself, "I'm just having trouble solving this problem".
- A small change in wording and outlook will turn the tide so that the problem is not directed at you, meaning there is no longer a connection between you and the problem. That way, the problem will become something you can overcome.
Method 3 of 3: Cultivate gratitude from your mental and physical health
Choose healthy diet. Eat foods that help you become positive and feel grateful. Choose fruits and vegetables like kale, red bell peppers, and bananas; Healthy carbohydrates from brown rice, whole grains, oats and salmon protein, nuts, lean meats, eggs.
- Moderation and diversity are really important. Your diet should not consist of just fruits and vegetables, you also need good protein and carbohydrates.
- Try to cut back on refined sugar and salt as much as possible.
Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of fluids. Water is an essential part of the efficient functioning of every part of your body and mind. Take frequent sips of water and drink water before you feel thirsty.
- Be grateful every time you can turn the faucet or open the water bottle and have clean water to drink. Remember that millions (perhaps billions) of people around the world still don't have this luxury.
Don't undercut Time to sleep. Sleep is an important part of keeping you healthy and happy - two things that make it easy to feel grateful. Sure, it can be difficult to be grateful when you're anxious to sleep, but getting enough sleep can make it easier to cultivate gratitude.
- Make it a habit to go to bed and wake up on time, create a comfortable space for sleep, relax and turn off all electronic devices before bed.
Perform exercise habits regularly. Regular exercise produces a happy hormone like endorphins, which help regulate your mood and make you feel better. Positive feelings are both a reason for being grateful and a motivation for practicing gratitude.
- Try to exercise for at least 30 minutes a day. These can be common activities such as jogging, dancing to music or practicing yoga.
Meditate regularly. Meditation is another powerful way to deal with mental health problems and feelings of depression in life. This is also a way to reinforce and practice gratitude.
- Find somewhere quiet and meditate for at least 15 minutes a day. Just sit comfortably, take a deep breath, and focus on your breathing. When tiny thoughts grab your attention, accept them and let them dissolve with each exhale.
Practice attention. By being present, you make it difficult for your brain to race with thoughts and concerns about future plans or immersing yourself in the past. This is one way to practice gratitude because you are fully present and thereby expressing gratitude to "reality".
- Practice mindfulness while eating. Focus on the food you're putting in your mouth: Is it hot or cold? Structure like? Sweet or sour or salty?
- Try this out when you go for a walk, or simply sit outside. You will notice the color of the sky and the shape of the clouds. Use your nose to feel the fragrance, and listen to the wind whispering in the trees.
Advice
- Remember that sometimes you will have bad days that make you grumpy and hate everything. That is completely normal. Don't blame yourself for not living in gratitude that often. This is the goal that many people are aiming for.
- Cultivating gratitude cannot keep bad things from being affected by what happens to you. Gratitude only makes it easy for you to cope and does not harm your mental health.
- You can't always control what happens to you, but you can learn to control your reactions to everything.
- Thanking people from time to time for the little things they do for you will help them feel appreciated. Even small gratitude can make someone happy all day long and can also make you feel better.
