What happens when you choose gratitude and appreciation?
Every time we feel thankful and appreciative, the hormone called oxytocin is released in the bloodstream, promoting feelings of affection and well-being. Although gratitude is indeed a pleasant emotion, feeling grateful is more of a conscious choice, a positive way of seeing and interacting with the world. To cultivate the attitude of gratitude, start with the intention to pay attention to the good things and people already in your life, the learning opportunities, and your attitudes and behaviours. By exploring each gratitude, we find deeper meaning and connection which enriches our sense of happiness and fosters our resilience in the face of adversity.
Replacing limiting beliefs with an abundance mindset
Most of us have some self-sabotaging beliefs. To overcome these, put yourself in a positive mindset by making a list of things you are thankful for. Then practice switching your limiting beliefs to empowering ones. As you unravel each limiting belief, ask yourself: Does this belief take me further along the pursuit of gratitude and fulfillment, or does this belief hold me back? With practice and persistence, you will find that adopting an abundance mindset, an attitude of gratitude becomes natural.
Gratitude shifts your mindset
For something to change in your life, one of two things has to happen: your life changes or your mindset does. When you’re stuck in a problem, you miss out on all the opportunities and solutions that are knocking on your door every day, simply because you don’t even hear them or see them. The mind is wired in a way to only focus on the problem rather than the solution. Rewire your brain in such a way that not a single gratitude and solution goes unnoticed.
Open your eyes to “Gratitude Practice” and you will notice how things start to fall into place for your benefit and happiness.
Here are some suggestions on how you can implement this in your everyday life. Keep a Gratitude Journal, Meditate every day, even if only for 10 minutes. After your meditation session, write down your positive thoughts. Keeping a journal of all of the things you are thankful for can help you keep track of and refer back to the positives in your life at times when you feel low. When you are putting pen to paper, you have no choice but to consciously think about the words you are writing down without other distracting, negative or ungrateful thoughts.
What grateful people have in common
Of course, the actual goal of keeping a Gratitude Journal, is not to have a notebook full of your declarations of gratitude, but rather to make gratitude a default feeling. According to researchers, there are four primary characteristics of grateful people, and these are the ones that a Gratitude Journal can help tap into, strengthen, and invigorate. People who experience the most gratitude tend to:
Feel a sense of abundance in their lives
Appreciate the contributions of others to their well-being
Recognize and enjoy life's small pleasures
Acknowledge the importance of experiencing and expressing gratitude
Gratitude is contagious
Nobody likes whiners, complainers, or otherwise unpleasant-to-be-around people. There are too many smart, talented and pleasing-to-be-around individuals in this world to be around the ones that are not.
When you’re grateful you tend to exude and share that contagious positive energy and people will more likely to be drawn to you. The energy is contagious.
Watch your words. Watch your thoughts. What you say and think you manifest, so be aware of complaining and replace negativity with positive words. Start with you, be the change and watch as the world changes around you.
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