Have You Experienced the Power of Gratitude?

Gratitude is mentioned everywhere, but have you realised yet how easy & powerful it really is?

There have probably been millions of words written & spoken about gratitude & its benefits, yet many of us still don't really appreciate how powerful this simple practice is. Who knows, maybe the number of times our parents told us as children that we should be grateful for something dimmed it's shine a little? But I think, as we begin this new invigorating (that's code for extremely chilly, if you didn't realise!!!) Winter season, it's an ideal time to revisit it.

Gratitude comes from the Latin word 'gratis' & means pleasing & thankful. It is an action (expressing thanks for something or someone) & an incredibly beneficial positive emotion (feeling thankful for something or someone).

It may seem like gratitude is merely the latest trendy concept, or just another way for self-improvement gurus to sell courses or merchandise, but the benefits of a regular gratitude practice are significant & long lasting. They include :-

1. Improved physical health - research has shown that gratitude can lower blood pressure; improve our immune system; reduce cardiac inflammation; improve sleep quality; positively impact athletic performance & rewire our brain (out with those negative thought patterns & in with positive, gratitude filled ones!).

2. Improved mental health - that brain rewiring leads to greater happiness; decreased rates of depression, stress & anxiety; improved relationships; greater optimism; stronger self control (which allows us to be more disciplined & focused on making better life choices) & greater mood regulation.

A contributing factor in the powerful impact of gratitude is the conscious focus that it requires. It is commonly accepted that our energy flows where our focus goes & we see examples of this every day - we wake up in a bad mood; things then seem to go wrong when we're getting ready for work; we find it difficult to complete tasks at work that are normally simple; that co-worker who's usually mildly annoying is next-level frustrating today; there's a traffic jam on the way home & then we burn dinner. From the moment we woke up in a bad mood we focused on that, so all of  our energy went toward finding things that would support that negative state. If we'd awoken in a good mood the day would have played out completely differently. Exact same hours & minutes in the day, exact same locations, exact same people ... totally different focus & perception!

By consciously focusing on the things in our life we are grateful for, we are adjusting the lens through which we see, feel & experience our lives. It is an extremely simple process that rewires our brain in terms of how it processes information. And the subsequent changes lead to a myriad of physical & psychological benefits.

There is a principle in neuroscience known as Hebb's Law, named after Canadian Neuropsychologist Donald O. Hebb, that states "neurons that fire together wire together". MRI brain scans have shown that people who are grateful have greater sensitivity in the medial prefrontal cortex, which is an area associated with learning, decision making & risk/reward assessment. It also activates the hypothalamus, located at the base of the brain, which maintains your body's internal balance by regulating hormones responsible for critical functions - such as body temperature, appetite, sleep, heart rate, blood pressure & emotional responses. One of the neuro-chemicals the hypothalamus releases is dopamine, which is a pleasure transmitter commonly known as the feel good hormone. And gratitude has also been associated with a boost in serotonin production, known as the happy hormone.

So, what does all this neuroscience mean? It means that expressing gratitude leads to a release of dopamine & serotonin, which makes our whole self feel good, our brain learns that this is a positive experience, does a risk/reward assessment & decides to do whatever it can to repeat this experience. The different neurons fire & then wire ... & our focus is directed toward things that will continue to repeat the positive experience or state of being.

Much of our time can be absorbed by negative thoughts about what we don't have & trying to pursue those things. Obviously, this doesn't create a very positive outlook as it puts us into a scarcity mindset, where all we focus on is what we don't have. Gratitude turns this around completely. It prioritises, & draws our focus toward, everything that we already possess in our lives. And then, we seem to attract even more of that!

As mentioned earlier, in every aspect of life energy flows where our focus goes, & gratitude allows that energy to flow toward positives rather than negatives without any conscious effort or awareness whatsoever. The only conscious aspect of gratitude is choosing whichever simple practice resonates with you & consciously focusing for those few moments that you are engaged in it. And all of the positive benefits just develop automatically as a result!

So, let's take a look at how easily we can integrate a gratitude practice into our life.

1.Gratitude Journal - buy yourself a beautiful journal & write 3-5 things every day that you're grateful for. They don't need to be major events (like getting a new car or winning lotto) they can be seemingly minor (like getting an unexpected hug from your child or enjoying a sunny day in the garden). And I don't know if you'll realise immediately, or after a few days or weeks, that the minor things actually have major elements within them! Also, try to be specific when writing & really focus on every aspect of your gratitude. So, instead of writing about an unexpected hug, write that you're grateful for an unexpected hug from your child because he knew that you were feeling a little sad. You can schedule your gratitude journalling into whichever part of the day is most convenient for you, because it will have an equally powerful impact. Some people say mornings are better, to set yourself up for a positive day. Some people say evenings are better, so you can end your day in a positive frame of mind even if the day didn't seem so great. But, the most important thing is to journal when it's most convenient for you, so it quickly & easily becomes a habit & you look forward to doing it each & every day!

2.Gratitude Letter - write to someone who has had a positive impact on your life in some way. It may simply be that it gives you pleasure spending time with them or something more significant, like them being a mentor or inspiration to you in your career or personal life. The act of writing a thank you letter will bring your mind & body into a state of gratitude so that you receive all the positive benefits & it will do exactly the same for the recipient. You can even write a thank you letter to an event or incident that had a positive impact on your life. This is weird, I sense you thinking. But the best part about thank you letters is that you don't always have to send them! The act of writing the letter provides the most significant benefits for you. Obviously, the recipient also gets a great boost when opening it, & impacting someone positively also makes us feel good. But your greatest benefit comes from the act of writing it. So, try writing a thank you letter once a month & reap the rewards!

3. Gratitude Jar - I absolutely love this one! Find or create (if you're artistic) a beautiful jar & buy a lovely little tear-off notebook. And every time something happens that you feel grateful for, write it in your notebook, tear it off & put it in the jar. Then on XMAS Day, New Year's Eve or New Year's Day open the jar & read all of the notes of gratitude from the past year. This practice gives you a triple-whammy reward - when you write the note; the long lasting, ongoing, mental & physical impacts of experiencing gratitude; & when you open the jar & read it again. And what an amazing activity for you as an individual or one that you can share with family & friends!

There are many simple ways to integrate gratitude into our lives with minimal effort & maximum gain - the return on investment is astronomical! And whether you realise that immediately, or a little further into your chosen gratitude practice, you will most certainly experience powerful conscious & subconscious changes within yourself. 

Kim Harrison

mindmakeover.com.au