Most people only express gratitude every so often. Usually when something is done for them, even then it can be less than sincere. When you express your thanks this way, you miss out on the many benefits of gratitude. Gratitude should be a daily, sincere, and deliberate activity, not an occasion formality. Here is why.
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Gratitude Benefits
Gratitude Improves Your Self-Esteem
A major benefit of gratitude is that it helps to improve your self-esteem. When you can recognize all the great things about yourself, and what you have in your life, you spend less time focused on your weaknesses and shortcomings. You also spend less time comparing yourself to others. Falling into a comparison trap wreaks havoc on your self-esteem and confidence. You may feel inferior and even experience resentment towards your life and the other person. Practice gratitude daily and it will help you break free from these unfair comparisons.
Gratitude Benefits Your Attitude
When you learn to be grateful on a daily basis, you spend more time focused on the positive. In this day in age with all the negativity at your fingertips, it is extremely easy to develop a negative attitude. Because of this, it’s important that you be proactive in looking at the positive. Gratitude is a great way to do this. When you are deliberate in being thankful, your attitude will improve tremendously.
“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” – Aesop
Gratitude Benefits Your Relationships
Appreciating others is a part of practicing gratitude. Truly and sincerely taking the time to thank those around you for what they do for you and for creating joy in your life will come back to you in a positive way. Showing others how much they mean to you will make them want to open up to you more and share their lives with you. They will appreciate you in return and the bond in your relationships will strengthen.
Gratitude Improves Your Happiness
Another benefit of gratitude is that it makes you happier overall. As stated before, gratitude keeps you focused on the positive. When you can spend most of your day knowing how amazing parts of your life are, then bad situations and experiences do not steal as much of your happiness. Happiness is a numbers game. If you have more positive thoughts and experiences in your day than negative ones, then you will be a happier person.
Gratitude Reduces Stress and Anxiety
Gratitude benefits your ability to manage stress and anxiety. Stress and anxiety can keep us stuck in the future worried about what may happen or stuck in the past obsessed about what already happened. Practicing gratitude brings you back to the present moment. When you can stay in the here and now, your anxiety and stress will lose their grip on you.
Gratitude Journaling
A great way to practice gratitude and experience all of the benefits associated with it is to keep a gratitude journal. This type of journal will keep you focused on all of the amazing things in your life and the prompts make it easy to practice gratitude in only a few minutes a day. For some amazing gratitude journaling prompts – click here.
Conclusion
Gratitude has many benefits. It can improve your self-esteem, attitude, and relationships. It can also improve your overall happiness in life and reduce your stress and anxiety. Start practicing gratitude today and watch your life change for the better.
What do you need to be grateful for that you haven’t been lately? Let us know in the comments below.
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