Gratitude Really Does Change Everything
Gratitude changes everything!
Dear Friends,
In the spirit of Thanksgiving I thought it would be a great time to talk about gratitude. Gratitude is very commonly spoken about these days and yet it still seems to only be recognized for the surface level improvements it has on your emotions. Keeping a gratitude journal is more of a trendy activity at the moment which is wonderful. It is a great thing to keep a gratitude journal for your overall health and well being so it being a trend is truly a blessing. Did you know that gratitude really does change everything?
It not only improves your emotional well being, but also your physical well being. God definitely seems to have made us to be grateful just as he made us to be families. Showing gratitude toward God for His many blessings that He bestows upon us has always been a part of the daily lives of Christians. It is in fact outlined in the Old Testament of the Bible in the form of feasts. Fasting also became a way of expressing our gratitude toward God which is shown in some early primary accounts of settlers in North America. I have noticed that this intentional tendency toward practicing gratitude is likely one of the reasons Christians seem so satisfied in life. Gratitude shifts your perspective from being focused on what you want, to being thankful for what you have. It is not about ignoring negative things, but rather focusing more on positive things.
In one of the psychology courses I took in college, I learned that we automatically commit negative events to long term memory, but positive events do not automatically commit to long term memory. This means you have to actively try to commit positive events to long term memory. The example given to us as to why this might be the case is that it could be a survival mechanism. A good example is putting your hand on a hot stove and remembering it burning. The burn is automatically committed to long term memory in order to prevent us from doing it again. In another of my courses we learned about a study that showed that depression is a mediator between stress and anxiety. If depression is the mediator, then practicing gratitude to lower or prevent depression, could in turn lower stress and anxiety.
Consider how wonderful and calm your life might feel if you felt less stress and anxiety? It is truly amazing to think about just how much this could effect your psychological and physical health. Perhaps you would have improved cognitive function due to lack of stress, that could lead to being more efficient and goal oriented which could lead to a better quality of life. Lowering stress could have a whole host of positive effects on your physical health like getting better sleep, reducing headaches, and in some cases it might even improve your digestion. The best part about all of these benefits is that they would likely lead to your ability to increase the quality of your relationships because you would have so much more energy to do so. Gratitude truly can change everything, and the benefits it gives to you will effect everyone around you as well. This holiday season I encourage you to practice gratitude and pay attention to things you can be grateful for every day, big and small. Keeping a gratitude journal for just two weeks listing three positive things or events that you are grateful for that day can have a lasting impact for months. This is because it will shift your focus and you will start looking for the positive in every day rather than focusing on the negative. Writing the positive things down will help commit them to long term memory. So I hope that you will consider starting a gratitude journal that could help deepen relationships and create memories that will truly last. Your Friend, Amanda
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