Sometimes it’s hard to be grateful, especially when we’re in the thick of stressful life events and negative emotions but gratitude is worth cultivating for its many benefits.
Why gratitude? Practising an attitude of appreciation, saying ‘thanks’ for things in our lives, especially those mundane things we take for granted as well as amazing moments, helps to promote our ability to ‘see’ the positive things in our lives and creates a greater sense of connectedness with others. Writing a gratitude list – a list of 3-5 things we are thankful for each day – helps keep us on the look out for the positives in our day: a good cup of coffee, a kind gesture, the power of our legs in getting us to the busstop, the smile of our child, the food that we eat, the sun, or just being able to be alive to experience whatever comes – including hard moments.
Research shows that gratitude helps us recover more quickly from negative emotional states and has a host of physical, social, and psychological benefits. Best of all – gratitude is FREE!!!
I am currently enjoying the second week of a six week Positive Psychology course on Coursera. Coursera offers free courses from a range of universitys in the world in many different languages. The Positive Psychology course is exploring positive emotions, such as gratitude, and how to cultivate them in our lives to produce greater well-being and, a better world.
If you would like to read more about gratitude, I recommend Greater Good’s articles on Gratitude.
But, bottom line, I recommend picking up a pen and paper, or downloading a Gratitude Journal on your mobile device, and getting started on writing your daily list of things you are thankful for. Even on a bad day we can find something small to be thankful for (maybe thankful that the day will end and another starts tomorrow). Try it daily for a week, I think you’ll be surprised at how powerful a practice it is.
Thanks for reading!
Leigh Matthews
Therapy in Barcelona
