6. Being grateful can help improve positivity
Being grateful is a life attitude, and can offer us many benefits in health, satisfaction with life, and the way we relate to others. When we feel and express gratitude to others, it turns our mental focus towards the positive. It is this feeling that overrides the brain’s natural focus of negativity in life, worries or threats. It is gratitude that gives us feelings of contentment, love, and joy which alleviates negative emotions, such as anxiety. Embracing gratitude can create positive thought trains and allow us to behave in healthy, positive ways. Randy A Sansone MD, conducted a study on Gratitude and Wellbeing and the effects on thankfulness and appreciation.[6] Individuals who are always grateful are less likely to be envious, depressed, or lonely.
What to do: For personal gratitude, you can create a gratitude diary, and before sleeping, note three things that you have been thankful for in the day. Additionally, when you wake in the morning, you can wake up being grateful for being alive, grateful for entering a new day or anything at all. Thank people you meet in the day. Maybe if they open the door or give you their seat on the bus, you can be thankful.
