Gratitude

First of all, for those of you who are in the United States, Happy Turkey Day! I hope that you have something planned that brings you joy and happiness, and if you don’t, this day could be a great opportunity for a self-care and self-love day.

I didn’t want to leave you hanging today because I know that the holiday season can be really difficult for some. I want to make sure that you feel validated in your emotions regarding the holidays, because they often are stressful which can bring up a lot of things. Whether we have suffered a loss, or there are family disputes or a traumatic event occurred around this time of year, whatever it may be, just know that I am thinking of you and that you are not alone.

Since it is Thanksgiving, I do want to focus in on what it means to be thankful, or in this sense, grateful for what we do have in our lives. It’s so easy to forget what we have when life gets overwhelming, and let’s face it, it’s easy to point fingers at what we don’t have instead of appreciating what already exists in our lives. And so with that in mind, like my podcast episode, I would like to dedicate this post to those in my life who have either been with me since the beginning, or stepped in along the way to help remind me of what I’m fighting for.

I’ve heard quite often that showing more gratitude in life can actually make us happier, and I think this idea is associated with the fact that if we actively appreciate what we have, we are consciously aware of those things and are content with those things, leading to a happier life. I wanted to learn more about this and here are some of the things I found:

7 Scientifically Proven Benefits of Gratitude That Will Motivate You To Give Thanks Year Round (forbes.com)

1. “Gratitude opens the door to more relationships” : Saying “Thank You” goes a long way with people. Think about it, when someone is openly appreciative of your efforts, it makes you feel good and probably makes you want to spend more time with those people. So if you are wanting more solid relationships in your life, I highly recommend following this suggestion by Amy Morin on forbes.com.

2. “Gratitude Improves Physical Health”: When I first read this I was skeptical, but as I thought it through, I started finding that connection. I think that gratitude changes mindset as a whole, and not only will we be more grateful for things in our life, but grateful for life itself. “This means we will pursue annual check ups with our doctors and exercising and so on” (forbes.com).

3. “Gratitude Improves Psychological Health”: This is easy for me to believe because when we are grateful, we are aware of what we have, and therefore it all attributes to the being happier.

4. “Gratitude Enhances Empathy and Reduces Aggression”: I honestly believe that empathy is the cure to the negativity that ails humankind. Having more empathy allows us to understand what other people are going through on an emotional level and with more understanding, we are probably going to be much less aggressive in our problem-solving approaches. Don’t you think?

5. “Grateful People Sleep Better”: Morin suggests in the article to write in a gratitude journal the things we are grateful for. I translate that as helping us feel more at peace with our lives and with more peace = more sleep.

6. “Gratitude Improves Self-Esteem”: When we are more content with what we have, we are less concerned with wanting what others have. Makes sense, right? Being happy with ourselves and our lifestyles is so important to living a mentally healthy life.

7. “Gratitude Increases Mental Strength”: I feel like this statement sums up all of the benefits listed. Being more gracious and appreciative has an enormous impact on how we view life. It helps us see things in a much more positive way, building up our mental strength for when things in life get tough, because it will happen.

We can’t avoid bad things in life. They will happen and it’s up to us to be as prepared as possible. Being gracious is one thing that can really help us stand a chance, and I don’t know about you, but I’ll take all of the help I can get!

I wanted to also take this opportunity to thank all of you for teaching me what it means to be a survivor. I have heard so many of your stories of resilience and survival, and it gives me so much hope for my own life and what I am striving for. Thank you all for being amazing human beings and for keeping up the fight in your own life to advocate for yourselves and making your quality of life so much better! Keep it up!