We're at a point in our lives where there are the many distractions of inflation, being over worked and social media over saturation. In a lot of ways, many are "tired" of these norms that seem like there aren't other alternatives but to deal with each of the curveballs that life throws. While its important to notice all of those things in the day to day that may cause discomfort, its equally important (if not more important at times) to pay attention to the things that are going right, and to not overlook the simply joys of life that come up every day.
Gratitude, the practice of appreciating and expressing thankfulness for the blessings in our lives, offers a powerful antidote to stress, anxiety, and discontent. Gratitude can be transformative, powerful and illuminate positive changes to your thought patterns of processing the day to day. Gratitude and being grateful doesn't always have to be in the common forms of saying "thank you" when someone holds a door or sending thank you cards after hosting a party. Gratitude is more of a state of mind that pushes you to focus on the things that you have, and who you are, rather than the things that you don't have and the person that you are not. Research shows that incorporating gratitude to your life has profound impacts on your overall wellbeing. Some of those ways are stress reduction, improved quality of sleep, improved interpersonal relationships, improved emotional resilience and increased happiness.
Realistically speaking, thinking about gratitude can be challenging when society has groomed us to constantly be looking forward to the future, while making comparisons to others. With everything that we bring to the goodness of life, we owe it to ourselves and those around us to pay attention to the good aspects of our day, what's going well in our circumstances and what we do have. Life will always have its nuances, but seeing the silver lining can help reframe our thinking and create resilience in our hearts and capacity to take on everyday.
Incorporating gratitude in your day to day doesn't have to be something that needs to be checked off of a to do list, or an elaborate assignment. Gratitude can be as simple as practicing mindfulness, writing down things that you are thankful for, expressing gratitude to others or taking a few minutes to reflect on the challenges that you have gone through. Hopefully over time, these aspects of making space for gratitude can become a mindless habit.
I will say, making space for mindfulness will require an open mind, open heart, patience and kindness to yourself.
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