With the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, it is apropos to observe and identify what makes us grateful. I remember first hearing a big buzz about gratitude in the mid 1990s, when Oprah put the idea of gratitude out to the public in an accessible way.
She shared that for a decade she wrote a daily list of five things that she was grateful for. From this experience she said, “I know for sure that appreciating whatever shows up for you in life changes your personal vibration. You radiate and generate more goodness for yourself when you’re aware of all you have and not focusing on your have-nots”.
At that time I thought, and maybe you are thinking, does gratitude really make much difference? Could gratitude help people that can barely get out of bed due to negative life circumstances such as trauma, loss and heartbreak? Or, was it simply good for those living a celebrity life like Oprah?
Studies indicate that gratitude has many positive health benefits including:
- Decrease in stress levels
- Improvement in relationships
- Improved sleep
The Greater Good Science Center, at UC-Berkley identified that, “gratitude can lead to better physical and mental health, increased happiness, as well as increased work and life satisfaction.” As well, brain imaging has found that gratitude can both boost the neurotransmitter serotonin and activate the brain stem to produce dopamine. This means that our brains produce more of the “feel good” chemicals when we practice gratitude.
Not only does cultivating gratitude help in the present moment, but neuroscientists have discovered that what we focus our attention on, trains the brain to look for more of the same; in this way our brains work much like Tik Tok algorithms, looking for more of what we attend to. So, why not practice looking for the things that are going well, good, better than before?!
Here are some ways to practice gratitude:
- Keep a daily gratitude journal. List 3-5 things that you’re grateful for
- Communicate gratitude to others; let them know what you appreciate about them.
- Daily find some quiet, notice and savor 3 things that you are grateful for.
As for my question years ago about how or if gratitude would help those going through acute negative life events—gratitude won’t be their panacea—but there’s no doubt, that developing a gratitude practice will help you cope with whatever life challenges you face, now or in the future.