Gratitude has sometimes been a trending and hot topic in the field of positive psychology studies. By definition, gratitude denotes your readiness to show thankfulness for an act of kindness shown to you or others. It’s both a reciprocal action for good deeds as well as a way to return kindness to those who express it. How can you benefit from gratitude as an individual in your day-to-day life?
This piece of work shows you the down-low on how individual benefits of gratitude can improve your life and the interventions that you should seek to cultivate your gratitude.
Individual gains of well-cultivated gratitude
Living with gratitude or the regular expression of it can improve your life in various ways outlined below:
• Various studies indicate that more grateful people live a healthy life. The same studies also show that scientifically designed interventions meant to improve gratitude also contribute to the involved subjects’ well-being.
• Other studies have also revealed that people who express more gratitude enjoy high-quality interpersonal relationships with their loved ones.
• Apart from enjoying better relationships and improved physical health, most grateful people often have reduced symptoms of mental problems such as depression, burnout, and anxiety.
How then can you improve your expression of gratitude if you’re rarely grateful? Here are some four reliable interventions that can help you improve your attitude on gratitude.
Gratitude fostering interventions
Surveys have shown that approximately 16% of people need something a little extra-ordinary for them to have a feeling of gratitude. These findings imply that gratitude is not easy to come by on its own, but interventions may be made to enhance it. A number of meta-analytical studies have shown that the use of interventions to enhance gratitude increases well-being, happiness, and the positive mood of the subjects under these interventions. Read on to get a glimpse of four personal interventions that you can use.
• Find a meditation coach and meditate on matters gratitude
You should culture the habit of taking breaks and meditating on the spirit of thankfulness by bringing to mind people you should be thankful to for the good things in your life. Your meditation journey can begin by reading some of the best books on gratitude or by listening to a gratitude podcast or a life coach. There are numerous best books on gratitude whose tone ranges from intimate to academic. These books are resourceful, and they can help you to learn about gratitude, while some offer an opening into a personal journey to the world of gratitude. Even if you aren’t an avid reader, you’ll surely find some of the best books on gratitude to be engaging, informative, and useful.
• Journal your blessings
Gratitude journaling entails the counting of your blessings and their documentation in one of what can be termed as the best books on gratitude because it reminds you of the goodness of others to you. You can also journal your related emotions and later use this content to write gratitude letters, e-mails, or texts to your friends and family. Revisiting your journal will always be a powerful motivator for your gratitude.
• Talk about gratitude
Have you ever been around people who often grumble, complain, and curse? Such people may lower your gratitude, and make you think that there are no good people out there doing some good. Be a positive beacon of gratitude by speaking about thankfulness and thanking others. This action will elevate the positive spirit of others as it will do for you.
• Seek and practice gratitude
Practice being mindful of others and express some gratitude always where necessary. Find that person that made a positive impact on your life and contact them to thank them for it. You should also surround yourself with people who are always grateful and enthusiastic about life if you want to culture gratitude in your life.
Even after reading the best books on gratitude you may still be unable to express gratitude in your life if you don’t try to practice it. Therefore, journal it, meditate upon it, and try to exercise and talk about it for you to fully embrace gratitude.