The Shift of Gratitude: Thankful vs. Grateful
One of the key differences between being grateful vs being thankful is that thankfulness is a feeling and to be grateful and in gratitude is an action. If you think about it, we have gatherings and holidays such as Thanksgiving and it gives us those warm, fuzzy feelings. Gratitude is much deeper and much more than the feeling for thankfulness. Gratitude requires you to stay aware and alert of the role of others and experiences have in your life. It's being conscious of where you are and really sitting in that space and truly appreciate it.
Yep. There are several studies supporting that individuals who consciously count their blessings tend to be happier and less depressed. One study showed that individuals practicing gratitude showed increased brain activity in the prefrontal cortex - an area that is best known for executive function, cognitive function and decision making.
So how do we get to this place of "gratitude"? It has been proven in research that gratitude practices don't always immediately positively affect mental health. But it did show that people who continued to practice gratitude led to better mental health outcomes over longer periods of time! Gratitude has also been strongly linked to feelings of happiness. The key is keeping gratitude in the forefront of our lives.
How do we do that?
There are many ways you can be grateful. Meditation, journalling, apps, a simple note on your phone. It doesn't need to be complicated it just needs to be intentional. Feeling grateful and living in gratitude has positive effects on all areas of your life. It has been proven to help one feel more open to relationships and enhance empathy. It helps improve mental strength, mental health and physical health. Believe it or not, it has actually been proven to improve self esteem - especially by reducing social comparison. There are so many benefits to intentionally slowing down and being grateful.
Some easy hacks for gratitude:
- Presently app: this app has been so great when you are feeling lazy and don't want to write things down. Having this app at my fingertips makes it easy to jot down some grateful moments
- Keep a gratitude journal or simple notebook at your bedside with a pen and quickly write a nightly gratitude list
- Look for grateful moments throughout the day instead of only reflecting at night
- Smile most often and laugh.
- Practice everyday at the same time to establish it as a habit
Resources
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu
https://www.neuroscientificallychallenged.com
https://www.psychmc.com
https://books.google.ca/
https://www.psychologytoday.com/
It’s important to note that the mental health benefits of gratitude writing in our study did not emerge immediately, but gradually accrued over time.
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