The Little things? The Little Moments? They aren’t Little!
Saying thank you to someone who is holding the door for you so that you can pass, giving a smile to the waiter for getting your order right and appreciating a coworker for filling in your tasks might not take up a lot of your time but are just some key gestures that solidify the importance of practising gratitude.
Gratitude is a game-changing emotion that keeps negative vibes and thoughts suppressed. Furthermore, it allows you to live a little more and laugh a little more!
But the main task at hand is how to practice gratitude so that you can experience satisfaction and comfort.
Table of Contents
What is Gratitude?
Gratitude is a positive emotion that invokes the feeling of thankfulness and appreciation for even the smallest of things in life. It is a powerful emotion that allows people to return the kindness by realizing the tiniest efforts.
When you start practising gratitude you feel fulfilled and satisfied and start responding with kinder emotions such as warmth and generosity.
Gratitude meaning can differ from person to person and might also vary from situation to situation. Yet the main context of it still stands in the recognition of a good deed, thought or act that has happened to you. It is not only pertinent for a good mood but also helps you to manifest a better life.
What is the Importance of Practising Gratitude?
In case you are wondering why is gratitude such an important emotion. Given below is how saying thank helps you to become better in life:
- Enhanced satisfaction in life
- Better sleep at night
- Reduced lethargy
- Helps to develop patience and understanding
- Cultivates wisdom
- Less dependence on material objects
- Lower levels of cellular inflammation
- Reduced chances of a burnout
Here is how practising gratitude help to shape communities:
- Improve the community health
- Build resilience
- Strengthens relationships
- Helo with social behaviours
Ways to Practice Gratitude – How to Manifest it
Given below are some daily gratitude practices that can help you to manifest this healthy emotion:
Start Writing it Down
Wondering about how to practice gratitude? Start by penning down things that you are thankful for even at the end of a hectic and disturbing day. If you can look for even a speck of positivity after a tiring day then you are already on the first step of manifesting gratitude.
Journaling is not only good for sorting your negative emotions but is also a key tool in realizing the smallest of events that are keeping you through even in the toughest of times.
The best time for journaling is at the end of the day. When you are done for the day and are gearing up for sleep that is the time when you should write all the stuff that either made you happy or you are stressed about.
Writing your daily activities not only helps you to practice gratitude but also aids in good sleep. You will feel lighter and your mood also improves.
Jar it Up!
A rewarding way to practice gratitude is by keeping a gratitude jar. You just need the following things for it:
- A jar or a box (whatever suits you)
- Stickers
- Glitters
- Markers
- Ribbons
- Post-it notes
Decorate the jar and make it tempting and appealing with different colours. Sparkle it up or paint it thoroughly your choice!
Now at night time or whenever you feel like it, take account of three things that you have been thankful for the whole day. Write them down and fill the gratitude jar with them gradually. The things that you are writing down don’t have to be grand you can just start with even the most subtle things such as a good coffee mug in the morning or good weather.
Whenever you feel down you can just look at the plethora of reasons to become happy that you have written down yourself. Writing your self notes will boost up the happy hormones in your body and will cultivate a practice of appreciating gratitude which will go long way.
Take a Walk
How to practice gratitude and mindfulness? Take a stroll!!!
This is one of the easiest ways to practice gratitude. If you are going through a rough patch then all you have to do is take a stroll and this will help you to clear your mind. They say walking is therapeutic and believe us it is as true as it gets.
Walking is not only a healthy morning habit but is also linked to high levels of endorphins in the blood. High levels of endorphins are related to decreased stress, help in lowering blood pressure and promote a good mood.
The main thing that you need to do while you are taking a walk is to observe. Pay attention to even the smallest of things such as the birds chirping, the smell of the plants and the freshness of the air. The effects of this gratitude walk multiply when you have a friend or a partner to share the stroll with. Then you can also appreciate them for their presence in your life. This will help you to see things from a better perspective.
Try Empathy
If you are an empath, gratitude is a given emotion. People who are strict and rigid in their dealings do not give attention to the smallest things in life that are making their every day easy. Thus empathy is something that makes us more approachable and sensitive as well as we tend to observe better.
Because if you are not able to show empathy then you are not going to appreciate small things and you are only moved by grand gestures in life.
Empathy is something that not all of us are born with but we can develop over time. Try to be a little more observant, attentive and in the moment and you will start becoming thankful for things.
Practising Gratitude for Better Mental Health
Saying thanks often or appreciating kind gestures is what makes us better humans. Staying in your rigid set of beliefs can often make life a daunting task. That is why if you opt for gratitude even in the tough trials of life it all can have a positive impact on mental health and social life.
Furthermore, if you need more help you can contact the best psychologist via healthwire. They will guide you on how to practice gratitude in a better manner.