Category: GRATITUDE – TJ

When you start to become used to performing at a high level, you begin to overlook the small things in life that make it worth living. You end up failing to appreciate the blessings in your life, and you forget to soak up the precious moments with those you love. Practicing gratitude can not only help you feel more grounded and peaceful, but it can also improve your ability to share your love with others. Here are some simple gratitude exercises that can make you feel happier.

Exercise #1 – Identify Three Things You Appreciate
Take a moment to identify three things in your life that you appreciate and feel grateful for. These things can be based on the present moment, in the past, or in the future. While no category of thing is too big or small, it is essential that you are specific in your gratitude.

Exercise #2 – Identify Three Things You Take for Granted
We all take things for granted in our lives. Take some time to reflect on these things and discover which of these things you value the most. This can be anything. You may take for granted that you are in good physical health, or that you have a good paying job.

Exercise #3 – Identify Three Things you Appreciate About Yourself
With our constant need to compare ourselves to others, this one can be a challenge. Take some time to think about the things that you appreciate about yourself. It could involve your personality, your daily actions, your qualities, or anything else that is directly related to yourself.

Exercise #4 – Identify Three Things You Feel Grateful For Right Now
To cultivate gratitude, it is essential to be in the here-and-now. Take the time to think about what you can appreciate about your current situation. Think about the time you’re taking for your health, think about the environment, think about anything that relates to the present moment.

Exercise #5 – Identify Three People Who are Significant in Your Life
Think about all the people you’ve had in your life. These can be coaches, teachers, mentors, family members, friends. Call those people to mind and take the time to think about how they made a difference in your life.

Exercise #6 – Create Thank You Notes
Create thank you notes for those three individuals that made an impact on our lives. You don’t have to send them, just the act of writing down your gratitude will be beneficial.

Practicing these six exercises regularly will help you to cultivate gratitude and lead you to a healthier and happier life.

– Scott Blessing

Gratitude is an attitude and a way of living that has been proven to have many benefits regarding one’s health, happiness, and satisfaction in life. It goes hand in hand with mindfulness and focuses on the present and appreciation for what we have now, rather than the continuous need to have more and more. Here are several ways you can harness the benefits of gratitude and live a happier and healthier life.

Think of Someone Who Has Helped You
Spend a few minutes reflecting on the ways that someone has helped you in your life. It can be a teacher, a parent, a mentor, or a friend. Think about how their help has benefited you. Then, write them a heartfelt card, visit them, or call them and tell them how their support has improved your life. If you no longer have contact with that person, write the card anyway and hold on to it as a reminder to feel grateful.

Talk a Walk
Take some time to walk in your garden or nature. As you are walking, think about how nature helps us to sustain life and feel more comfortable and happy. Focus on feeling grateful for the fresh air, the beautiful flowers, or the shade of a tree.

Think of Someone Who Helps You Daily
This can be a parent, partner, beloved pet, best friend, or teacher. Spend a week observing them and focus on all the various ways that they make you happier and more comfortable in your life. Show them your appreciation by making a plan to do something special for them.

Give Back
Gratitude comes from acknowledging the good fortune you have in your life. Sharing that with others who are less fortunate has a positive impact on everyone involved. Giving back to others is a great way to show your thanks for all the good things that you have in your own life.

Choose to Be Grateful
Someone who is grateful sees everything in their lives, both the good and bad, as gifts. Being grateful means that you look at setbacks and challenges as gifts that you can learn from. They understand that the difficulties and setbacks provide them with the opportunity to learn something that they otherwise wouldn’t have learned, and they are grateful for that.

Harnessing the power of gratitude doesn’t mean that your life is without problems, it is merely a means of impacting your emotional state and energy levels for increased productivity and satisfaction

– Scott Blessing

In recent years, positive psychology research has proven that gratitude is strongly associated with the emotions that can help you enjoy more significant health and happiness. It has also been shown that gratitude plays an essential role in nurturing relationships and can even inspire you to take better care of yourself. Here’s how developing an attitude of gratitude can improve your mental health and make you happier in your life.

Increased Happiness
When you incorporate gratitude into your daily life, you will have a more positive outlook, and you will be more appreciative of everyday things. You will be less likely to take things for granted and will be more inclined to be moved by the little things. With gratitude, your moods won’t be affected by disappointment, and you’ll be better able to see the bright side of life rather than focusing on what you lack.

Greater Life Satisfaction
Those you practice daily gratitude tend to be less materialistic and more hopeful in life. They are also more likely to have greater resilience and less likely to feel like they’re a victim when things don’t happen to go their way. Being able to cope better with tragedies and crisis, can help to improve the quality and experiences you have in life.

Better Mental and Physical Health
Research has proven that when you live with gratitude, you are less likely to suffer from anxiety and depression. With daily gratitude, people tend to be more optimistic and enjoy an increase in energy. Gratitude also has a positive effect on cardiovascular health and immune health and has been shown to effectively lower blood pressure, increase pain tolerance, and have a positive impact on pregnancy.

Increased Self-Esteem
Those who experience heartfelt gratitude in their lives have higher levels of happiness and far greater self-esteem and confidence. Being grateful focuses your attention on happier, more positive thoughts which can help you to feel better about yourself and help you to banish negative self-talk.

Higher Levels of Success
Those with a grateful disposition have been shown to be more likely to achieve their goals faster. Those who hold managerial positions report that showing genuine appreciation and thanking their colleagues improve productivity and motivate.

Being grateful isn’t always easy, but without it, life can be incredibly lonely, depressing, and impoverished. Showing gratitude can enrich your life and energize, elevate, inspire and transform your life.

– Scott Blessing

When you are dealing with a difficult situation, it can be challenging to see the positive. This is where being grateful can help. It doesn’t mean that you are grateful for the difficulties, but instead, you should be showing gratitude for the positive things that are going on in your life, even if they are small. Gratitude can help you see your current situation in a way that can lessen the panic, and open your thinking to new solutions to your problems. Here are nine ways you can practice gratitude and start living a happier life.

Practice #1
Take a moment to notice your day-to-day world from the point of gratitude. When you start looking at things from the point of gratitude you will be amazed at all the goodness in your life that you have probably been taking for granted.

Practice #2
Keep a gratitude journal. Keeping a gratitude journal requires nothing more than taking a few moments at the end of the day and writing down the things that you are grateful for in your life. You don’t even need to buy a fancy notebook to start seeing the benefits.

Practice #3
If you identify something or someone in your life with a negative trait, switch that trait in your mind to a more positive one. For example, if you associate your work conference room as the cold room, start thinking of it as the conference room with the great view instead.

Practice #4
To practice and benefit from gratitude, you also have to practice humility. Humility is defined as being modest and respectful. Take some time to explore where you can fit humility into your life.

Practice #5
Every day, give at least one compliment. This can either be directly or by sharing your appreciation of something in your life. This can be as simple as saying, “I love how quiet it is in the morning.”

Practice #6
When you find yourself in a difficult situation, ask yourself what you can learn? Think about when you look back on the situation, without emotion, what you will be grateful for.

Practice #7
Make a vow not to criticize, complain, or gossip for a week. If you slip, rally your willpower and keep moving forward. Take the time to notice how much energy you were spending every day on negative thoughts.

You don’t need any specialized equipment to practice gratitude. All you need to do is use your head and your heart.

– Scott Blessing

Some people believe that if they possessed more things or had better luck, they would be more grateful. However, the number of things that you accumulate will not affect your attitude. Gratitude is an attitude that can easily be cultivated, no matter your current situation. Here are five ways you can grow your gratitude to live a happier life.

Start a Gratitude Journal
Take a few moments every day to jot down five things that you are grateful for in your life. These things can range from being thankful for waking up in the morning feeling rested to getting to work on time. Spend a moment to feel how incredibly blessed you are and allow that feeling to propel you toward greatness for the rest of the day.

Stop and Smell the Flowers
Change the way you think about your day by just stopping and smelling the flowers for a moment. Actively try to catch yourself before you get overwhelmed with negative thoughts or feelings. Take a walk and feel grateful for those things around you, like the oxygen being provided by the trees around you. This simple activity can give you the opportunity to view a stressful situation in a new way.

Find Something Positive in the Negative
Before you get upset about what seems to be a difficult situation, take a moment to shift that negative thought into one that is positive. If you’re stuck in what seems like never-ending traffic, look on it as a chance to meditate or get into a calmer state before getting home.

Go a Day Without Complaining
Set a new pattern in your life by abstaining from complaining for an entire day. Work to find one good thing among the dozen of negative things that might affect you throughout the day. Allow yourself to be transformed by this new attitude.

Give a Genuine Compliment
Share your kindness and authentic praise with someone around you, whether it’s a friend or a stranger. Not only will this spread the love to another person, but it will also uplift you and push you to focus on the good, and allow you to build an even stronger relationship.

By integrating some of these exercises of gratitude into your daily life, you will learn what will ultimately allow you to continue to be thankful for each day.

– Scott Blessing

There are many proven benefits that you can gain by keeping a gratitude journal. The time that you take to purposefully think and write down the parts of your life that fulfill you can pay substantial dividends. Research-based tips and your favorite pen can help you create a gratitude journal. Here are five tips for maintaining a gratitude journal.

Tip #1 – Make it a Routine
Scientists have extensively studied the science behind creating habits. Keeping a gratitude journal as a way to feel happier, over the long term, has to be a part of a daily routine. Select a time to write in your journal and plant cues to remind yourself to write in it daily. Write in the journal often enough to create a habit, but not so often that you become immune to the impact.

Tip #2 – Write in Detail
Writing in your gratitude journal shouldn’t be just another thing that you have to cross off your list. If you are approaching your gratitude journal in this way, your denying yourself the benefits that you can gain from the practice. Be present and conscious of the notations you are making. Be sure to journal in detail and think deeply about the things that have recently impacted your life.

Tip #3 – Acknowledge the Negative
You will never be able to escape the challenges of life altogether. Any number of difficulties can affect our feelings of gratitude. However, if we try to rush through these struggles, or fight to find gratitude, we can end up fueling emotions of defeat and anxiety. So, when you are facing challenges allow yourself to feel negative.

Tips #4 – Uncover Gratitude in Unexpected Moments
Challenge yourself to find gracious qualities in your life’s more difficult events. The purpose of having a gratitude journal is to help you savor the fruits of life, but there is more gratitude that you can uncover. For instance, were you getting ready to leave for work only to find out your car has a flat? Find gratitude in the fact that you weren’t driving the vehicle when the tire gave out.

Tip #5 – Practice Gratitude for the Right Things
People who are consumed with the accumulation of material acquisitions and wealth are less likely to be happy compared to those who are grateful for what they currently have, according to research. Rather than showing gratitude for the material things for the sake of ownership, focus on what you are afforded with those items.

Keeping a gratitude journal will help you focus on the positives in your life and result in you being happier and overall, healthier.

– Scott Blessing

While facing the pressures and demands of our daily lives, it can be challenging to stop and think about what we are grateful for in our lives. When you can stop and show gratitude for what you have, you will experience amazing benefits. Here are seven tips for cultivating appreciation and boosting your overall happiness.

Pause and Look Around
A simple way to cultivate a habit of gratitude is to take a moment during your day and ask yourself what you can be grateful for in your life, and who are three people that you can be grateful to have in your life and why. However, don’t get hung up on the numbers, if you can only think of one person, that’s okay. The critical thing to remember is to take a few moments and think about what you’re thankful for in your life.

Look Toward Yourself
Take a look at yourself. When you can cultivate a habit of being appreciative and grateful to yourself, you can notice a significant boost in your self-esteem and self-confidence. Remember, your self-gratitude doesn’t have to only be about your achievements, but can also be about the qualities you possess.

Think About What You Take for Granted
You don’t have to only focus on the big and obvious things that you have to be grateful for in your life. Also, think about the smaller things that you have to be thankful for. Opening your eyes to the little, daily things that you have to appreciate allows you to see more of the simple beauty in life.

Do it Early or Late
The only way you can make a habit of gratitude is to stick with it and not allow it to become one of those things that you forget about. To make gratitude a habit, it is best to take a minute in the morning and find three things, big or small, that you are grateful for in your life. Then, every evening, spend a couple of minutes writing down three to five things that you are thankful for about your day.

To truly boost your happiness, you need to express your gratitude. Make other people in your life happier by showing how you are grateful for having them in your life. Not only will this put a smile on their face, but it will also make you happier.

It doesn’t have to take a ton of time or effort to make gratitude a habit. Taking even small steps to show your appreciation can boost your happiness.

– Scott Blessing

Thanksgiving isn’t the only time you should practice gratitude. However, many studies have found there are many benefits in making gratitude a year-round habit. To enjoy the many mental and physical benefits of gratitude all it takes is a little bit of introspection. Here are five surprising benefits you can gain from developing an attitude of gratitude.

Benefit #1 – More Patience
Researchers at Northeastern University have found that people who felt grateful for the little everyday things in their lives were more patient and better able to make sensible decisions, compared to those who didn’t feel thankful on a daily basis.

Benefit #2 – Improved Relationships
Feeling grateful toward your partner, and vice versa can improve numerous aspects of your relationship, according to a recent study published in the Journal of Theoretical Social Psychology. This includes stronger feelings of connectedness and overall satisfaction as a couple. Being grateful for each other can significantly help your love life.

Benefit #3 – Improved Sleep
Feeling grateful can help you sleep better and for longer. This is most likely because you have more positive thoughts before you go to sleep, which can help to soothe the nervous system. If you are going to make a daily gratitude list, or keep a gratitude journal, studies have shown that it is best to do this right before bed.

Benefit #4 – Eases Depression
Gratitude is powerful. Recent studies have shown that by practicing the “three good things” exercise daily, you can see considerable improvements in depression and overall happiness, sometimes in as little as a few weeks. The activity prompts you to think of three good things or moments that happened during the day.

Benefit #5 – Gives You Happiness that Lasts
Numerous things can give you a boost of happiness, from a compliment to a sugary treat. Unfortunately, these kinds of instant gratification can quickly disappear and leave you craving more. Gratitude, on the other hand, is something that can lead to a much more sustainable form of happiness because it isn’t based in that immediate gratification, but rather a state of mind. If you take the time to regularly express gratitude and thankfulness for the things in your life, you are more than likely to see long-lasting happiness.

Gratitude doesn’t take a lot of fancy equipment to practice, but can significantly change your life. By taking just a few minutes a day to show your thanks can have substantial benefits on both your mental and physical health.

– Scott Blessing

Starting and maintaining a gratitude journal can be a difficult task to undertake at first because it is just something else that you have to remember to do every day. However, after a while, the effort you put into showing your gratitude every day will be well worth it in the long run. Continue to push yourself to do it every night until it becomes a habit. The best time to start a gratitude journal is now. Here are three incredible benefits that you can gain when you start to keep a gratitude journal.

It Increases Positivity
When you write things down that you are grateful for in your life, you will naturally become more optimistic and confident. Focusing on the good in your life provides less power to the negative emotions and greater power to the positive ones. Although you may have positive thoughts come to mind throughout the day, taking the time to write them down makes them more concrete.

It Improves Sleep
Spending just a few minutes right before you go to bed to write down the things that you are grateful for will help to quiet your mind and ease any anxieties that you might have about the day. A calm and grateful mind will allow you to fall asleep quicker. Gratitude has been shown to induce the relaxation response and has been proven to be a potent sleep aid.

Improves Self-Esteem
When you focus on the negative things in your life, it can become extremely easy to feel down. We tend to be more demanding on ourselves than others, but keeping a gratitude journal can help you stay focused on your achievements. Showing gratitude can help to reduce the natural tendencies we have to compare ourselves to those around us, which can be detrimental to our self-esteem. When you show gratitude for what you have, you will harbor less resentment and jealousy toward others and have a greater feeling of self-worth.

Reduces Stress
Researchers have found that when you focus on feelings of satisfaction and contentment, it will naturally counteract stress. While you will still have to deal with challenges in your life, having an attitude of gratitude will help you better deal with those challenges.

Better Health
Grateful people tend to live healthier lives and live longer than their ungrateful counterparts. This is because they have the motivation to take better care of themselves. Grateful people experience fewer aches and pains and are more inclined to eat healthily and exercise.

These are only a few of the many benefits of keeping a gratitude journal. If you aren’t already keeping one, starting today will help you live a happier and healthier life.

– Scott Blessing

It is amazing how one, simple affirmative action can change so much in someone’s life. One of the things that can have a tremendous impact on your life is the realization of the power of gratitude. Practicing gratitude can affect every aspect of your life. Here are four tremendous ways incorporating gratitude into your life can change it for the better.

It Can Get You Out of a Foul Mood
Rather than getting mad at someone, show gratitude for them instead. This isn’t always going to be easy to do because it is a significant switch of attitudes. If someone makes you mad, rather than getting angry at them, focus instead on those things that make you grateful. Doing this can slowly change your mood. Showing your gratitude toward someone rather than anger will not only improve your mood, but it can change your relationship and make things better.

It Can Transform Your Relationship
While it is always important to talk out your problems with your spouse or significant other, criticizing them all the time will quickly deteriorate your relationship. Instead, when you find yourself feeling the urge to criticize them, stop and take a deep breath, and calm down. Start to think about all the reasons you are grateful for your partner, then share your gratitude with them as soon as possible. Showing your gratitude will help to make your relationship stronger.

It Can Improve Your Parenting Skills
Many parents get frustrated with their kids. Unfortunately, many parents also communicate their frustrations to their kids too often, leaving their kids to feel bad about themselves. Rather than continually criticizing take a moment to calm down and think of all the ways you are grateful for your children. Share these reasons with your children and take the opportunity to teach them, rather than criticizing them. You’ll both be better for it.

It Can Help You Better Deal with Tragedy
When you suffer a tragedy, try to be grateful for the life that you still have. Facing disasters in your life can be crippling if you let them overcome you. While you still want to grieve, you can also take away something even more significant from the tragedy, the gratitude for the life you still have. Love for the people you still have in your life, and appreciation for the fleeting beauty of life. Take the opportunity to show appreciation for those in your life and enjoy your life while you can.

Finding ways to incorporate gratitude into your life will change it for the better.

– Scott Blessing