The word gratitude comes from the Medieval Latin word gratitudin, which means thankfulness, or pleasing. The modern English dictionary defines the term as a noun meaning “the quality or feeling of being grateful or thankful.” Having an overall gratifying life, or having gratitude towards life can lead to a happier and less stressful life, which can lead to better health. It’s a win win, no matter which way you look at it.
“5 Ways to Incorporate Gratitude into Your Life.”
- Often when something not so nice happens at the start the day we cling to it, this in turn can ruin the rest of our day. Life throws curve balls, the important thing to remember is that no matter what struggles or trials you go through there will always be a rainbow after the storm. It won’t always be easy to apply this first principle, but with practice it can be done. When you have a situation that might not be so positive, be a curious observer and find one positive thing about it. If you can do this your gratitude meter will remain full.
- Every evening to write down all the good things that happened that day. This keeps your mind looking out for positive things, which in turn will help diminish the focus on the negative.
- Remember your manners: this may sound strange but my parents always pushed the use of “please” and “thank you”, I can hear the words very clearly “what do you say?” Sadly nowadays manners seem to have slipped, become aware of your manners and remember to say please and thank you, it really does make a difference.
- Surround yourself with others who live gratitude filled lives. It’s not hard to see that those we surround ourselves with have an effect on how we behave and feel, so why not surround yourself with someone who is as grateful as you are. Skip the negative and downer friends and find positive friends that can walk this journey with you.
- The most important step would be to take it slow, don’t try to wake up tomorrow and be the leader in gratitude, especially if it’s not your normal reaction. Living a grateful life can take time to adapt to and that’s ok. Like anything in life slow and steady wins the race so take things slow and if you have a “bad” day just remember your walk down this path is at your pace, and try again the next day.
Deb
