Results from research on gratitude discovered that people who practice gratitude and appreciation have lower levels of stress hormones and are in better physical health.
The practice of gratitude can help you maintain positive feelings even when faced with challenging situations and events. You might think “This is impossible with ________ that is going on in my life.” That response is totally understandable. However, gratitude is a mindset, and thoughts do generate feelings. It makes sense that if you focus on all negative aspects of any given situation, then you will experience negative feelings. Consequently, when your thoughts are focused on gratitude (finding some good in any given situation), positive emotions and positive attitudes will follow.
As you practice gratitude, you are likely to find that you experience a greater sense of well-being, a happier disposition, and an improvement in your personal and professional life.
Start by thinking about those things you are grateful for. To be more effective, write it down in a journal if you have one, or in any handy notebook, or paper. Keep it simple.
Begin your statement of gratitude with a sentence stem such as this one:
“I’m so happy and grateful that _________________________________, Then fill in the blank.
To help you get started, here are a few examples:
“I’m so happy and grateful that I have food on my table.”
“I’m so happy and grateful that I have friends that support me.”
“I’m so happy and grateful that I awaken each day to the sounds of nature (or children).”
After a couple of weeks of writing a daily gratitude statement you will notice how much you appreciate many things in life. Focusing on what you have instead of what you don’t have develops a greater sense appreciation of life and of others.
Use the following form to focus on and write down your daily gratefuls: