Money, sex, pleasure … Nope. The key to happiness is something entirely different … something anyone can have … at any time.
Gratitude is the practice of noticing and appreciating the positives in your world. Shifting the focus from what you don’t to what you DO have can profoundly influence your mood, emotional state and physical health.
Research in the field of positive psychology found that a daily gratitude practice can lead to increased concentration, enthusiasm, optimism, and satisfaction—not to mention improved sleep quality and a greater sense of connection to others.
What’s preventing you? Too weird, unfamiliar, spiritual. With Thanksgiving this week, now is the time to start cultivating it into a habit. Take the time to notice and give thanks for all that NOURISHES—friends and family, health, community, and the food on our plates.
Gratitude allows you find a meaning and to fully enjoy. Here’s how:
1. Slow down and be mindful
Slow down and you will notice more. It’s often the little things that end up being the most significant. Finding the extraordinary in the ordinary takes attention and mindfulness. The sighs from your sleeping child; the wind in your hair.
2. Keep a gratitude journal
Writing down the things you are grateful for takes increases overall well-being significantly! 2-3x a week my daughter and I cozy up in her bed and think about our day. We write 5 things we are grateful for in that moment, and reflect on the entire day. I don’t know who loves it more, me or her.
3. Shift your focus
Instead of viewing your world through a lens of all of the things you don’t have or are missing out on, try shifting the focus to what you do have and what is going well. Since starting the journal with my daughter I have seen this shift in her. It’s Brilliant.
4. Make it a practice together
At dinnertime, my little girls lead their “thank-you’s”—a little thank you poem with hand gestures and all. It’s been part of our dinnertime since they were able to sit at the table. It calms, sets the tone and encourages us all to share our day.
If you want to feel happier, start incorporating a small dose of gratitude into your daily habit— Share with us here how and you could very well be thankful for winning our contest giveaway—a Vitamix!