Have an Attitude of Gratitude

Develop Wellness

Have an Attitude of Gratitude

"Being grateful all the time isn’t easy. But it’s when you least feel thankful that you are most in need of what gratitude can give you: perspective. Gratitude can transform any situation. It alters your vibration, moving you from negative energy to positive. It’s the quickest, easiest most powerful way to effect change in your life — this I know for sure." - Oprah Winfrey, an American icon

Gratitude is the quality or feeling of being thankful. Through gratitude, we actively show our appreciation for the incredible gift of being alive. Practicing gratitude is a crucial part of anyone's wellness routine. Like intelligence, gratitude is not fixed. There is always room to grow!

As simple as it seems to be grateful, it requires effort and intention to make it happen. Intentional gratitude practice is linked to lower rates of depression and stress-related illness because it enhances joy and peace. Gratitude practice fosters stronger interpersonal relationships by making you more compassionate and generous which can help you feel less lonely.

With so much suffering and injustice in our world, it's easy to get stuck in a loop of anxiety, fear, and worry. Gratitude helps us to shift our perspectives towards hope and separate the present moment from negative thoughts. It's not about ignoring the realities of the world, but coming back to who we are and how we experience the world on a day-to-day basis.

Take 4 minutes for a gratitude retrospective...

Start a two-minute timer and write everything you are grateful for. If you get stuck, write "I have more to say" and keep going. Resist the urge to cross out or read what's written.

When the timer goes off, reset it and take two more minutes to express hope for your future self. Imagine everything has worked out as well as it could and write everything you will be grateful for a year from now. Again, don't stop writing.

Gratitude changes our subconscious programming and turns what we have into enough. Consider taking this sense of satisfaction and optimism with you beyond this writing exercise.

More ways to practice gratitude:

  • Keep a bedside gratitude journal and write in it before you go to sleep or when you wake up. I try to write these three things: a noun (person, place, or thing) I am grateful for, an experience I am grateful for, and something about myself that I am grateful for.
  • Listen to these gratitude affirmations every morning for three weeks to reprogram your subconscious mind.
  • Practice grounding into gratitude through yoga with Adriene.
  • Foster present-moment gratitude for small things throughout your day.
  • Try gratitude meditation with Headspace.
  • Write a thank-you note to someone and share it.

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When you plant seeds of gratitude, hope and resilience grow. As with all things, the more we make our gratitude practices into habits, the easier and more natural it becomes. How do you keep an attitude of gratitude? Please share if you found this information helpful or comment with any questions. Thank you for reading!

The Develop Wellness articles are inspired by a series of wellness workshops that I facilitated with Women Who Code Boston. Check out our events for more!