There is a growing body of evidence that practicing gratitude can lift your mood, increase your level of contentment and improve your health. Practicing gratitude is a great mindfulness exercise. But how do you get started? and what if you don’t feel grateful about anything?
Knowing that it can be hard to cultivate this practice we have decided to sponsor a 40 day gratitude challenge!
First, here is some scientific evidence that shows the health benefits of Gratitude:
1. Adults who keep gratitude journals exercise more regularly, have fewer physical complaints, and feel better and more optimistic about their future.
2. When people focus on gratitude they feel more loving, forgiving and enthusiastic.
3. Practicing gratitude can help you raise your happiness set-point and fights our natural tendency to have the good feelings of fortunate experience fade away.
You may wonder how to get started with your gratitude practice so here are some tips that I have found to be helpful:
1. Allocated time every day to look at what is going right in your life. This may be first thing in the morning, or before bed.
2. Think small. Maybe you didn’t win the lottery today, but did you feel healthy? have a yummy snack? A nice interaction with someone at the bank? Notice a tree blossoming? One day I wrote that I was grateful for my grey hair! (it’s all how you look at it!)
3. Get a gratitude partner. A friend, a spouse, even a child can help you notice the good things that are happening that we might miss.
Lastly, Please please please share you gratitude! I will be posting every day for the next 40 days (studies show that is takes 30 to 40 days to form a new habit).
So here it goes…..
Gratitude, day one: Today I’m grateful that I got eight hours of sleep last night, and I feel relatively rested. What are you grateful for today?
Check in tomorrow to see what I’m grateful for – It may just be that my toilet is not plugged!
We wish you twenty minutes of mindfulness every day!
Check out these gratitude resources below:
gratefulness.org is a wonderful website with lot’s of inspiration
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Today I am grateful for a wonderful afternoon spent cooking with one of my home care clients: chicken stirfry with mushrooms, Vidalia onions and red bell peppers; steamed broccoli; brown rice.
Thank you for sharing! I’m grateful for caretakers like you!
I am so grateful for the most loving,strong minded and caring wife for the past 24 years
How lovely! Thank you for sharing
I am so grateful for my loving husband and children who have supported me through thick and thin!
I’m grateful for my meditation teacher and her invitation to join her in this challenge together.
I am so grateful that you are joining us!
I am grateful for the balm of forgiveness, whether giving or receiving.
I am grateful that the war and poverty taught me to be grateful for even the opportunity to write this.
Thank you for sharing Melisa:
We all sometimes take for granted our basic human rights.
peace and mindfulness to you