Health Goals You Can Stick With: Make Gratitude a Part of Your Daily Life for Health and Wellness
Posted: Thursday, January 01, 2009
by Val Silver
TapInfinity
Gratitude has been likened to a powerful spiritual vitamin. It helps keep our minds clear and our lives more satisfying.
Researchers have typically found that thankful people experience better overall health and longer lives. They have higher incomes, more satisfying relationships, exercise more and sleep better at night. The practice of gratitude seems to reduce stress hormone levels while increasing your ability to resist viral infections of the nose and throat.
Melodie Beattie says:
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow."
If you are tired of feeling negative, add these three gratitude practices to your life:.
- Create a daily habit of giving thanks for the big and little things, even some of them appear less than "good". Offering thanks for the mundane, and even some annoying things that happen can instantly shift your perspective and relieve stress.
- Instead of getting angry when you are slighted, especially if you have no recourse, try this practice. Let's use this example to illustrate. Someone cuts you off in traffic. You are safe, but instantly feel angry. Acknowledge the anger and then say out loud to yourself: "Thank you that I am safe. Thank you for all the safe drivers on the road with me. Thank you for the driver that just cut me off. Bless him/her and keep her/him and everyone around that car safe." I can almost guarantee that this will short-circuit the rush of negative emotions and resulting chemical shifts in your body. Instead your body and mind will respond positively. You may find that you even feel better than before the incident.
- On those days that you feel really low, offer thanks for at least five things in your life, no matter how small they seem. Yes, there are five things. Offer thanks for breathing, having a home, healthy children, a chance to begin again. You may still be depressed or upset, yet you will notice a feeling of peace in the midst of that feeling. And remember, a new day is coming. Be thankful that this too shall pass.
Read more about the power of cultivating and expressing gratitude.
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Top-level comments on this article: (8 total)Wonderful article, Val. I have always been a firm believer that gratitude and attitude are everything. With the right amount of each, some would be surprised at the change in their lives.Thanks again and have a great new year.Sandra
Val, I loved your article because it reinforced something I heard recently. The next time a driver cuts you off, don't get mad. Instead, be thankful there was no accident. There is always some good if you can look at the picture from a different perspective.Yes, be thankful there was no accident but here's the rub. According to Prison to Praise we also need to be thankful for the accident- definitely not our usual response. Thanks for commenting.
hi val,this was such an interesting, and well written article.i like the whole concept. i've been introduced to it before, but forget from time to time. thanks for reminding me,best regards,sue
Tons of great advice, positive message, and great content. One of my favorite subjects. I can truly relate to this. I for one am greatful for what I have, and even for what I don't have, makes me appreciate them even more, and even if I don't have, what I wish I had, I'm not sure I even need it! I am grateful for that!! I loved the content of this article because it is positive, and anything that deplicts the positive, is wonderful. Thank you for sharing this article, it made my day! (Now I can't stop smiling)!!Thanks Gary, I'm glad I made your day! That's got to be the ultimate compliment. Keep smiling! Val
Yes bless them that offend and hurt you. Now that is one that will definietly help.
A wonderful article about a wonderful attitude. I have been using the term this too shall pass for some time now, maybe with the addition of the thankful attitide it will finally come to be. Thank you for the advice.Hi Scott,
"This too shall pass" is one of the phrases I lean on most heavily during hard times and just like you said, with an offering of thanks even when not feeling particularly thankful.
Thanks for commenting.
I have already believed much of what you mentioned in this article. I feel your article leans toward the church side some. I am one of those people that are in between believing and not believing in God. I believe there are times where getting angry only uses up your own energy, but I also believe that you you constantly cannot just look the other way. If you believe in something you must stand up for it as there is not always the knight in shining armor that will come to your rescue.Thanks for taking the time to respond and share your thoughts and beliefs. Actually, the beauty of this is that it really has nothing to do with church or God. You can be grateful to God in particular, to the universe at large, or to your Higher Self for example. It also has little to do with looking the other way. Sometimes there is no choice, sometimes it's the wise choice and other times you choose to take a stand. Regardless, when you offer gratitude for something, you are opening yourself to the possibility that "the universe" has brought it into your life for a reason- for your (or someone else's) higher good, even if you are not particularly happy about it. I think this then allows you to respond from a more positive perspective.
Well maybe I didn't say all that as well as I'd like but I hope it clarifies my intent with this a bit more. All the best, Val
This post was highlighted in the March 2 edition of "Gratitude Watch."Thank YOU for promoting the value of gratitude.
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