Many studies show choosing gratitude can greatly improve every area of our lives. Here are the 5 best reasons to choose gratitude every day:
1. Gratitude Makes Us More Patient
They do say that patience is a virtue and it’s most definitely lacking in the “instant gratification” world that we live in today. Northeastern University conducted a study where they noticed that people who choose gratitude on a regular basis are significantly more patient than those that don’t.
It’s super important to have more patience in our lives because it makes us think more long term. Thinking long term means we are able to make better decisions.
2. An Attitude of Gratitude Improves Relationships
When we choose to express true gratitude to the important people in our lives we find that our relationships are a lot stronger. By choosing gratitude in our relationships, we create a much better connection with our loved ones. And connection is everything.
The Journal of Theoretical Social Psychology published a study to support this. They found that people who expressed gratitude regularly to the people that they love rated their relationships more satisfactory than those who didn’t practise gratitude regularly.
3. Choose Gratitude For Better Sleep
When we express our gratitude just before we go to bed, we tend to fall asleep quicker and get a better quality sleep. If your head is full of negative thoughts then it will be harder for you to fall asleep. That can then spiral into late-night worry or overthinking, and thoughts compound. I’m sure we’d rather not have compounding thoughts of worry or doubt etc.
Whereas the compounded positive thoughts created by choosing gratitude will have you sound asleep before you can even count ten sheep 😜
If you have a gratitude journal, I highly recommend writing in it before you go to sleep. Journalling, before we sleep really, helps us to relax and get a good night’s sleep. And, of course, getting a good night’s sleep is essential for overall good health.
4. Choose Gratitude For Reduced Anxiety and Stress
People who suffer from anxiety find that when they choose gratitude it can reduce their symptoms.
Try this: Each morning and evening think about three things you are grateful for and write these down in your gratitude journal or notebook. Try to add some reasons why you are grateful for them too, as that makes it more powerful.
Practising gratitude every day can be hard at first, but it’s a habit that can greatly reduce anxiety and stress symptoms naturally – so it’s well worth it.
5. Choosing Gratitude Creates Long Term Happiness
There are many things in life that can give you a quick fix happiness boost like eating sugary foods. However, these are only temporary happiness highs that never last, not to mention they’re not the healthiest choices.
When you choose gratitude you feel a stable sense of happiness and inner peace for longer periods of time. It’s more sustainable because we’re training our brains. Remember, thoughts compound. So the more grateful we are, the more things we find to be grateful for. And the more grateful we are, the more magnetic we are to new things to be grateful for 🙂
An attitude of gratitude is also infectious to people around us, we’re passing the good vibes forward just by being grateful for what we have.
You don’t need to invest in any expensive stuff, you just need to choose gratitude – and stick to it to transform your life for the better. A gratitude journal can also help as gentle accountability, and there are also apps that make it even easier to develop an attitude of gratitude.
Want to get started right away? Check out the 10 Best Gratitude Apps To Increase Happiness. (add link)
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