Far Reaching Effects of Practicing Gratitude as a Daily Habit
When you start looking into mindsets, approaches to life and work that will help you live a better life, GRATITUDE is often something that comes up. But what is it and why is it important? What are the practical effects of practicing gratitude?
Gratitude is the state or quality of being thankful and appreciative over a thing, situation or it is something you express to another person.
We all want to be in a state where we are happy with who we are. To get there, you need to be grateful for everything that has happened to you in life and everything you are and have in your life today. Anything in your past that you aren’t grateful for can become baggage, regrets, the foundation of fears and limiting beliefs.
Life moves fast and is complex that taking the time to reflect and be thankful is not considered a priority. In the perspective of business, gratitude gets lost by the wayside, as well, when the company you work for is solely focused on growth, scaling and profits.
It can get really overwhelming but do know that pausing and focusing the mind on great things that are happening in the present can prevent you from worrying about the past, which you can’t change, and the future, which you can’t predict. It also lifts you above the stress of life and helps you control your feelings and negative emotions — as we all have them. They are built in us, over 2 million years of evolution — worrying about things is a survival instinct.
Gratitude, if used in conjunction with breathing and concentration, is incredibly powerful in giving you the feeling of complete mastery of the moment you are in. In this relaxed state, you will be surprised with the sparks of creativity that start to come to you through your subconscious.
If this interests you, then please comment and I will happily share with you my method of getting into this state.
Expressing gratitude also takes the “ME” out of the equation. It makes you think about other people, situations you have experienced, nature and the positive effects these have had on you. It relieves you from the pressure to perform, be somebody and conform to expectations.
Why do I say gratitude is important?
Here are some of the reasons:
- When you are thankful for what you have, you will understand the value of what you have. When you understand its value, you will know how to use it well.
- It shifts your focus from what you don’t have and a feeling of negativity to being contented with what you have and positivity.
- It makes you less afraid of the future and gives you peace of mind — because you know that whatever challenge you encounter in the future, there is always a greater good that can be gleaned out of it.
- Instead of having a victim’s mentality when it comes to life’s challenges, gratitude makes you value the challenges. It also makes your mind clear enough to process why those challenges happened and what they are teaching you.
- It opens up a person to learn more — progress, stretch and grow.
- It creates and strengthens valuable relationships in business — be it customers, clients, employees, suppliers and business partners.
- It makes people want to work for you more. When your employees are appreciated, they would be loyal to you.
- It will make your employees more productive, because they feel appreciated.
- Creating a culture of gratitude in a company would also mean creating a culture of excellence and generosity, of people who would also want to bring the vision to life and a culture of building solutions (instead of just focusing on problems).
- It is a great culture to cultivate, personally and in business. The benefits are long lasting and it will reap a harvest of good things in return.
So, let’s start being grateful! Some good tips are…
- Take a 15 minute break, go somewhere quiet where you wont be disturbed and focus on your breathing until you are in a relaxed state.
- Think of three things that you are grateful for in the past or present that are helping you enjoy the life you live. Examples are a beautiful sunrise, a partner who is genuinely compassionate, friends who are there for you, a teacher who helped you when you were younger, a colleague who helped you successfully deliver a project, your parents for bringing you into the world and supporting you into adulthood, a piece of music or film that had an impact on you, something you read or the smile of the lobby receptionist. These are all diverse examples but try to put yourself in those moments and remember how you felt in those times or the impact of those experiences.
In this relaxed state, you will feel in your stomach, moving upwards through your body, a feeling of happiness and joy at who and what you are today. Let it settle for a few minutes, feel yourself smile and let energy rush through your body.
When you are ready, feel the physical sensations of where you are sitting, listen to the noises around you and slowly open your eyes. Getting into this kind of practice is life-changing. If you do this habitually, you will feel the compound effect of it in a number of areas of your life.
Also, it would be good to keep a diary of the three things you feel grateful for every day. Write them down and in quiet moments, look back on them and recreate the emotions and feelings you had from the relaxation gratitude exercise.
There are so many things to be grateful for! Let’s start this journey of gratitude, shall we?
Cheers,
Rob
