Practice Gratitude
For many of gratitude doesn't come naturally. It requires special efforts until it becomes a habit, of course, a very good one. As with any new skill, we have to learn and train our brains to express our gratitude. Here are a few suggestions to make our gratitude training easy and effective.
Set 5 minutes every day to prepare
Write down three things that you are grateful for at the end of each day. Do this every day for a week. Keep the list short but specific. It is a great way to end your day with a positive note.
Notice and Appreciate the Good Things
Look for reasons to thank your colleagues and co-workers for doing something right. Do they respond to you quickly, do they give you a heads up before sending you any work?
Look at everyone around you; it could be your friends and family at your home, classmates in your school, colleagues at your work, or strangers in the playground who is nice to you.
Thank people who are kind to you or someone else
Remember hard times
One way that makes it easy to be grateful in your current state is to remember hard times when your friends and family stood by your side during those times. This set up an explicit contrast in your mind, and this contrast is fertile ground for gratefulness.
Set a goal to practice gratitude
Research shows that setting a goal to perform a behavior increases the likelihood of executing the action. Develop your gratitude goals, and make sincere efforts to practice them every day. If needed, post your goals somewhere where you will be reminded of it every day.
If you go through grateful motions, it will trigger the emotion of gratitude. During this pandemic time, a less stressed life will improve your health and better immune system. So take time to write down what relaxes you, things that are going well, something you enjoy and looking forward to, people you love, and who loves you.
These are just some of the ways that you can train your brain to be more grateful. Awareness and mindfulness will help you get started.
If you want to hear from experts, you will find the article “'Why Do We Take Existence for Granted?' Deepak Chopra on Finding Gratitude During the Coronavirus Pandemic” helpful. Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate. Thank you for reading my blogs on gratitude.
