The Hidden Benefit of GRATITUDE That Changes Everything

28 Mar The Hidden Benefit of GRATITUDE That Changes Everything

Posted at 20:42h in Uncategorized by Marnie LUETCHFORD

There are few buzzier words in popular psychology and spirituality than the word Gratitude. These days it seems everyone is talking about the importance of Gratitude for boosting happiness and contentment in their day to day lives. A mere 30-second scroll through Instagram gives the sense that we’re realizing with greater clarity the link between gratitude and happiness.

Indeed positive psychology research shows that gratitude is consistently associated with enhanced joy. But not just that. It also helps increase positive emotions, appreciate the good times, improve health, manage adversity, and cultivate stronger social relationships (1).

Gratitude is a Habit

You may have noticed that I capitalize the word Gratitude. It’s intentional. As with any buzz word, Gratitude can easily slip through the cracks of understanding and lose its real meaning and ultimately, its true expression. That’s why I approach Gratitude as both an intentional practice and an incidental one. We want to attend to it as we would our bodies’ physical requirements for nourishment, like eating and sleeping. To treat it as a regular, non-negotiable practice strengthens the neural connections that program us for frequent spontaneous or incidental experiences of gratitude, and ultimately, generosity too.

In short, the more we make Gratitude a habit the more it becomes a habit that feeds our personal happiness, supporting greater joy in every area of our lives, without any change in our external situation, and sometimes even in spite of external circumstances. As Gratitude reinforces itself, we shift from feeling grateful to being grateful, and the difference is profound.

The Benefits of Gratitude

Gratitude is a benefit in and of itself. But beyond that, the research rings loud and clear the myriad benefits associated with Gratitude. For example, it increases our patience, fosters a greater sense of community and belonging, and even helps us get a better night’s sleep (2, 3, 4).

But one of the most significant benefits that I’ve noticed (that I have not seen it mentioned in the research) is that Gratitude makes us more generous beings. Below, I share with you what I’ve learned about Gratitude, how I cultivate it in my life, and its connection to generosity.

How to Cultivate Gratitude

Be attentive to your surroundings.

Give conscious attention to all you encounter throughout your day. A quick mental note of thanks for that cup of coffee, arriving at home safely at the end of the day, or the slant of sunlight through the kitchen window does wonders for relaxing the nervous system but also for recognizing how much goodness fills our days.

Try expanding your awareness too, to what’s beyond the material world. Notice those inner feelings, even if they’re fleeting, of peace and joy, or the simple wonder of waking up each morning, or the flow of your breath in and out. The more closely we take notice of the seemingly simple things, the more wondrous and miraculous they become and the more generous our perspective becomes too. As poet, David Whyte reminds us, “everything, everything is waiting for you” (if we’re present to notice it).

Create an intention to notice the goodness.

Whatever we give our attention to gets stronger. How we perceive ourselves, each other, and the world around us directly affects our experience. Problem is, we have a built-in negativity bias, particularly when we’re stressed and the limbic brain (survival brain) is overactive, that impedes our ability to see what’s good. That’s why setting a daily intention to notice the goodness is the first step towards feeling it deep within the heart. So, to begin, set an intention to simply notice beauty every day. As your awareness increases, so too does your capacity to feel and express gratitude.

Discover its truest expression.

There are many ways to express gratitude. For some, journaling is a way to document and thus store those moments of appreciation to memory. For others, verbal expressions of gratitude do the job of expressing and thus cultivating more gratitude.

While I support pretty much any method of expressing gratitude, the primary one for me is giving. As I hinted at earlier, the more grateful I become in my heart and body, the more generosity I feel towards other people. My perspective becomes more generous and I feel my capacity to give expands to the point where, as Mary Oliver eloquently puts it, giving feels like receiving.

When we allow ourselves to be touched by the wonder of life, to feel grateful for all we encounter, it sets us up to be more generous too. And for that reason it works both ways. Giving cultivates gratitude too. So, what arises is a loving feedback loop that inspires happiness, wellbeing, better health, and more positive relationships.

It’s a Shared Journey…

As a Holistic Health and Wellness Coach, I really can’t say enough about the power of Gratitude and its effect on every area of my life. That’s why I bring a grateful heart into everything I do, especially to my work as a Menopause Relief Expert, Master Hypnotist, and Reiki Master.

Our first job is to be more present with our immediate experience. By bringing greater loving awareness to the body, we begin to cultivate a more generous relationship with ourselves and the world around us.

I use energy healing modalities to inspire this expansion of attention in my clients, and I’d love to support your journey towards cultivating more gratitude and generosity in your life too. Contact me to schedule a time that’s convenient for you. I’m located in Durham Region, serving clients in Clarington and surrounding areas. I look forward to hearing from you.

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