Why Gratitude Is the Key to Happiness and Change
A lot of us don’t take the time to appreciate things and people until it’s too late. Like a shiny new toy, we’re ecstatic to be around it at first, but as time goes by, we lose interest and get bored. We get used to having or being with whatever or whomever is with us and even feel like we’re entitled to have it. Instead of being grateful, we’re like a well that is never full. No matter how much water you pour into it. Instead of recognizing what we already have, we either want more or we desire something else. That just makes us melancholy as we are left chasing a carrot on a stick that we are never fully capable of reaching. This article will go into detail on how practicing gratitude can positively transform your life and why it’s the key to happiness and change.
Gratitude is the key to happiness and change because it helps you focus on what you already have, instead of feeling like you’re missing something. In other words, being grateful shifts your perspective. Gratitude also improves your relationships with others and boosts your well-being as a result.
In this blog post I am going to cover a few aspects that get significantly better as a result of practicing gratitude. I’m going to cover why gratitude is the key to happiness and a huge factor that is the key to a positive change in your life.
Let’s get into it, shall we?
Gratitude Shifts Your Focus and Gives You a More Positive Outlook on Life
Practicing gratitude is like learning to train your brain to see the bright side of life instead of the dark. And since we focus on the positive, as a result, we get more of what we are fixated on.
Unappreciation, brattiness, being spoiled, and thinking that you’re entitled to special treatment is bound to leave you feeling like you’ve got nothing.
Taking things for granted usually backfires, as when we do that we always feel like we’re lacking. We feel like we’re missing something or missing out and end up feeling unfulfilled and unhappy.
By feeling like we’re always in the state of not having enough, we become fearful, and end up attracting exactly what we are trying to avoid. Be it financial difficulties or relationship problems. Gratitude changes all of this. You shift your focus from fear and lack to abundance and joy. When you feel abundant you want to give, and by giving we always end up getting a lot more than we ever hoped for. Gratitude alters your negative brain bias and helps you create new brain connections that help you focus on more positive aspects of your life and relationships. Also, when we focus on the things that we enjoy in life, we experience the hormonal benefits like our happy chemicals, endorphins and dopamine being released. Both are associated with pleasurable sensations and can reduce our anxiety and stress and make us feel happier. For example, instead of staying at home and getting fixated on the poor snowy weather outside, you can tell yourself something like this - “ yay, it’s finally snowing and it's gorgeous outside. I can finally take my son for a sled ride outside and we can get some fresh air and play in the snow.” That’s just one example. You can apply it to most situations. It’s all about training yourself to be glad for whatever and start seeing the positives in everything.
Gratitude Makes Your Relationships Better and Improves Your Well-Being
As a result of practicing gratitude, our relationships and our happiness levels greatly sky-rocket. Human beings are naturally drawn to other people and it’s no surprise that people that have a strong support system in place experience greater mental health. Gratitude is when our relationships can make us appreciate the other person/people more and in turn make us feel like we’ve got the best hand around. This will make us happier and our happiness will not only be felt by our partners/friends but they will see the change too. Happiness is contagious and people want to be around other happy people too.
We’ve just created an A 7-day gratitude mini-course to change your brain and your life. There I talk more about how to practice gratitude and give you 20 real life examples of the things that you can do to be more appreciative. It’s really detailed and covers the physiology behind gratitude and splits seven different sections to focus on into seven different days. We’ve also got a helpful download that you can use to assist you with the gratitude training. And speaking of relationships, in our mini-course, I will give you three tips on how to nourish your relationships and make them as strong as a rock. Go and check it out. We’ve got a lot of information that will help you and your relationships prosper.
Gratitude Lifts Your Mood and Eliminates or Diminishes a Lot of Mental Health Problems
Gratitude can help shift your focus to thinking more positively, and thinking more positively is associated with reduced stress levels, better overall health, and a positive mood shift.
Depression and anxiety can be caused or escalated by self-defeating thoughts that downplay one another, and before you know it, you’re caught in a quick sand to depression.
When we are ungrateful and don’t recognize or take the steps to recognize how much we really have, we are not only operating in lack, but our thoughts also become negative. We think - “ what’s the point? I’ve got nothing in comparison to so and so, I will never have what I want,” or “ He’s so lazy, I can’t believe I’m in a relationship with him. I have the worst boyfriend.” The escalating thoughts lead to even more negative and self-defeating thoughts, and before you know it you’re anxious or depressed. Positive thoughts on the other hand provide these benefits -
Increased life span
Lower rates of depression
Lower levels of distress and pain
Greater resistance to illnesses
Better psychological and physical well-being
Better cardiovascular health and reduced risk of death from cardiovascular disease and stroke
Reduced risk of death from cancer
Reduced risk of death from respiratory conditions
Reduced risk of death from infections
Better coping skills during hardships and times of stress
And feeling grateful ensures that your thoughts are positive as you’re noticing the positive around you. Remember our inner world reflects our outer world and gratitude helps you change your inner world so your outer world can positively reflect that change.
Recognizing how lucky you are and how much you actually have makes you feel strong and supported and in turn mentally healthier and happier to be alive.
In Conclusion
Practicing gratitude rewires our brain and shifts our focus to a more positive outlook. Being grateful for the things and relationships in our lives changes our perspective and makes us happier and healthier individuals. Gratitude also changes relationships. With ourselves and with others around us. When we’re grateful, we view life with wonder and are operating in a state of completeness. This makes us happier and more pleasant to be around. And because we’re focused on the positives of our relationships and start appreciating our partners more, they feel happier and naturally want to return that positivity back to us. And lastly, gratitude makes us happier, less stressed, and eliminates or diminishes our anxiety and depression. Gratitude changes the inner dialog in our heads and shifts our thoughts to more positive thoughts. When our thoughts shift, our emotions follow.
Here is a free guide to check what bad thought habits you have.
It teaches you how to master your thoughts and provides a step-by-step guide towards thoughts that guide you towards your greatest life.