As the holiday season begins, people think about what they’re grateful for in their lives. But the daily practice of gratitude produces a physical change in your body as it floods your brain with happy hormones of dopamine and serotonin.  Therefore, you can pivot away from negativity to joy simply by being grateful. 

A simple thank you to another actually causes an effect on the brain. It lights up different areas of the brain associated with processing emotions, authentic bonding with others, morality, and empathy. So gratitude is a multifaceted social feeling based on how others can benefit us. So when you are grateful, it doesn’t even light up the reward center of the brain. I mean that gratitude isn’t about an incentive you are getting, but instead involves authentically connecting to others and learning their unique perspectives

Do you realize thankfulness, appreciation, and gratitude are slightly different?  Despite the subtle similarities, the differences are meaningful.  Many define being thankful as a feeling of being pleased.  To appreciate means you recognize the excellent qualities of something and see the item’s value.  Both terms refer to feelings or ideas we have within ourselves. 

Gratitude, however, is action-oriented.  It means showing thankfulness or indebtedness to another through your deeds, not just your words. Of course, it isn’t difficult to feel thankful or appreciative of others, especially during the holidays.  But taking loving, kind deeds to express your gratitude is putting your love into action. 

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them. ~ John F. Kennedy

Intentional Practice Of Gratitude

Your intention is vital concerning being grateful.  Why? Because it has ripple effects across your life. Not just from chemical changes that alter your state of mind, but also positively affect those around you. When you feel good, you desire to serve others by passing on the gift of hope, encouragement, or positivity.  

Consider the language you’re using when you are being grateful. Writing your daily gratitude list has to be affirming.  You won’t use negative words, so you might need to reframe the stories you’ve been telling yourself.  It’s also interesting to notice you will use more collective words and less personal pronouns when you write.  This change shows the progression you’re making into living each day with a grateful heart.  So, by practicing gratitude daily, you alter the egoic mind’s use of words and become kinder in your self-talk. 

Understand that the positive effects of this practice will take time, and they’re cumulative.  Yes, your brain will get its happy hormones when you’re writing your gratitude list. Still, the consistent state of living with a grateful heart will take more time, but you’ll notice some of the subtle changes. For example, not allowing other people’s drama to disturb you, or you’re more thoughtful of others, and you feel more content about your life. These changes occur because gratitude pivots you to focus on being grateful for the relationships you have and the things you’re doing to live the life of your dreams.

When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out, and the tide of love rushes in. ~ Kristin Armstrong

Get Healthier This Holiday Season

Many believe that practicing gratitude is the key to mental well-being.  And there is preliminary research that suggests grateful people sleep better, have healthier hearts, and have less pain in their lives. But this is a long-term effect which you can begin now and by the end of the holiday season, see a change for the New Year. 

Focusing on gratitude during the day doesn’t allow the egoic mind to gather a list of things that didn’t go as planned for you to get upset about as you try to drift off to sleep.  In a study, 40 percent of people with pain could go to sleep faster, sleep longer, and have a better sleep because of implementing a gratitude practice. 

There is also research showing that practicing gratitude helps to lower blood pressure, which improves heart health. And in another study, participants showed decreased markers for inflammation, which is the underlying cause of all diseases in the body. It also lowers a protein in the blood, reducing the risk for heart attacks and type-II diabetes.

Since you are focusing on being grateful, you’ll notice your stress levels will decrease, and there will be more serenity in your life.  Why? Because you are no longer reacting to the daily irritations that can occur.  This gratitude practice will help increase your authentic connections with others, which also improves health.  So there’s mounting scientific evidence that practicing gratitude could be an essential element to a healthy life.

Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos — the trees, the clouds, everything. ~ Nhat Hanh

Ways To Expand Gratitude in Your Life

I believe the best way to instill the daily practice of gratitude is to journal. When you write your list of things you’re grateful for, you imprint them onto the egoic mind.  This process helps you change the language you use into more positive statements.  It also supports your mind to look for things you can add to your journal throughout the day, thus looking for the lesson and not the inconvenience of a situation. I journal in the morning as part of my self-care practice, which includes mediation and affirmations, but this can be done as part of your bedtime routine. 

Encouraging others by letting them know why you’re grateful they’re in your life. As part of my annual Happiness Project, I made a list of people I wanted to show my gratitude. Some were people currently in my life, and others were those I wanted to know how they positively affected my life. It was nice to hear from them in return and strengthen the authentic bond.

Throughout the day, stop and give yourself a gratitude time-out. You can remind yourself of something you journaled about or review your day so far and see what you can add to your record. I used to find this hard to do because, especially at work, it’s hard to stop. So I now do this every time I have a restroom break. It helps relieve stress, puts me in a positive perspective, and allows joy to rise from within me.

Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul. ~ Amy Collette

Gratefully Moving Forward

When you are aware of and living in the present moment, gratitude comes easily. Why? Because acceptance of what is only occurs in this instant. Remember, everything that is happening is for your growth, so look for the lesson. Understand the Universe is looking out for your best interests, so don’t take for granted any of the experiences you have and learn to say thank you for the encounter. 

Your gratefulness helps you expand.  It brings positive things into your life and the lives of those around you as you recognize the opportunities presented to you. You’ll see with fresh eyes which will perceive more beauty and wonder in the world around you. 

You shift your vibrational frequency higher and attract better things into your life through a daily gratitude practice.

True prosperity comes through this universal truth; gratitude benefits your mind, body, and soul. It frees you from the prison of fear the egoic mind tries to instill in your life. It’s easy to see the positive in one’s life if you are looking. But it’s a choice you have to make each day. 

Gratitude increases your inner light that shines to inspire others.  It magnifies the joy and peace in your soul and allows it to rise from within naturally. Choose to implement a daily gratitude practice now so you can reap the benefits by the New Year.

Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. ~ Melody Beattie

Do you need help to see all you have to be grateful for? Do you want to be healthier by the New Year? If so, please reach out to me at TerriKozlowski.com, and we can put together an action plan for you to create the life you desire.

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