Practice Gratitude this Season
This month we celebrate Thanksgiving. Practicing and expressing gratitude is so powerful—and so healthy—it’s something I recommend we all do not just on Thanksgiving, but on every day of the year.
Scientists have done quite a bit of research on gratitude’s effects on the human body, our psyche, and our health. They’ve found that practicing gratitude on a regular basis actually rewires our brains, (re)training the pre-frontal cortex to focus on positivity and suppress negative impulses. Long-term positive effects include measurable health benefits, making a person more resilient to the proverbial slings and arrows of daily life, and improving one’s overall sense of well-being,
How can we focus on gratitude and being thankful when things are so hard? For starters, we needn’t pretend things are not difficult when they unquestionably are. Yet at the same time, we can’t say there aren’t good things happening in the world. Life is—and continues to be—a combination of light and dark, of good and evil, of sweet and sour. To hold a perpetually negative view of things is just as disingenuous as having a perpetually positive one.
As thoughtful adults, we can hold both positive and negative views, and thus navigate life more authentically. And healthily? Yes, indeed. Through gratitude. Proceeding from this attitude can especially enable us to cope with our incessant challenges, thereby bringing greater balance to our existences.
So, how do you practice gratitude? Here are some useful ways:
Start a gratitude journal. Write down a few things you are thankful for each day.
Look for glimmers of closeness you felt with someone in the course of a day.
Celebrate what you have, instead of concentrating on what you don’t.
Tell the people in your life something you appreciate about them. And often.
Also, give yourself positive affirmations.
Remember to slow down, especially to notice the beauty surrounding you.
Is your company struggling to infuse a culture of gratitude? Changing the status quo can be difficult, but we can help. As organizational leadership, culture, and compensation specialists, we empower businesses of all types to truly thrive, starting with how people interact with one another. For more information on how to foster a culture of gratitude this holiday season—and beyond—please contact me at laura@conoverconsulting.com.