How To Have A Life-Changing Gratitude Mindset
- Sep 14, 2021
- 4 min read
Written by: Savannah Cheon, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Many research claims that gratitude is the foundation for happiness and inner peace that affects our general happiness, mood, and well-being. Being grateful is such a powerful feeling to have. In positive psychology research, it says that gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.[1]
Hearing about the many benefits of gratitude, I started writing the five things that I was grateful for every morning or even put an alarm to think about my gratitude list. It surely was an uplifting morning routine to have, however it started to become automatic and not really able to feel the grateful feeling especially when I was having a bad day. Of course, it is easy to think about what is grateful in our lives and naturally feel grateful when exciting things are happening, but many times people tend to focus on what is not working and complain instead of remembering what we already have.
When I started implementing these two steps in my gratitude practice, I started to feel more joyful and truly appreciate what I have in my life. When I was feeling grateful and chose to focus on what is positive in my life, many areas of my life started shifting positively as well.
1. Be grateful for what you have as if you will lose it if you don’t
Have you ever moved to a new place where it is worse than the previous place? Have you ever got fired from a job? Have you ever lost a person that you loved? Most people have taken some things for granted and realized more value when they have lost them.
I recently changed my environment and reflected on wonderful things about my old environment and noticed some opportunities that I have missed out. It led me to realize how important it is to focus on the things that I currently have and appreciate them in case I might not have them in the future. When I decided to look for any simple good things that I currently have in my life, I was getting inspired to how I can maximize my current resources and feeling more joyful.
2. Make sure to write it down on a piece of paper
As I mentioned in my previous article “How to Use Affirmation to Change Your Inner Beliefs”, writing things down has a different effect on our brain than simply thinking or saying it out loud. Ever since feeling the powerful effects of gratitude myself, writing a gratitude journal has been my morning and evening rituals. Although people don’t wake up feeling excited every day, writing a gratitude journal is a mental exercise to shift the consciousness to see the brighter side of things. For example, if you currently hate your job and many complaints start to come up when you are thinking about the job, write down any positive things about the job. It can be such as “I’m grateful to even have my job. I know many people who are unemployed. I’m grateful to have my job since it gives me financial support to buy my basic needs. I’m grateful to have my job since I have easygoing coworkers to work with.” It can be any simple thing that other people might not have in terms of the job. When you apply this gratitude journaling in any area of your life, you will find more inner peace in terms of dealing with the things that you found problematic.
In addition to the gratitude journal, the journaling prompt of “What am I looking forward to today?” is another way to shift our brain to look for more positive things from the morning. When we are going through difficult days, people often think of the worst and how to prepare for it. When we set our minds to prepare for the worst, we are in a fearful state and tend to find more negative things and be in that cycle. However, when we do the opposite and think about what pleasant surprises we will experience today, not only we will appreciate the simple joy such as kind service from the waiter, eating our favorite food, etc. but also we may feel lucky as we may find more unexpected pleasant surprises.
We all have days or weeks that we believe that things can’t get any worse. If you are having difficulty seeing the grateful things in those days, sometimes it is better to acknowledge your feelings and take a rest. If you are forcing yourself to get out of the stuck mindset that you are in, you will feel more resistant. When you take enough time for yourself and are ready to move forward, try the two steps. As it is easy to go downward spiral when you believe that things can’t get any worse, when you focus on gratitude and what you already have, more good things will surprise you.
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Savannah Cheon, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Savannah Cheon is a Whole Person Certified Coach, an alumnus of Harvard University, a CEO of Aurora Luxury Hotel, writer, and blogger. Savannah has been a digital nomad throughout her life. She helps rootless digital nomads and world travelers who left home for adventure and want to find a sense of connection wherever they are. She helps people build a sense of home within them that they can feel secure, create meaningful relationships, have a sense of belonging, and enjoy their lifestyle fully. She is a firm believer of the quote, "Your mind is a powerful place, and what you feed it can affect you in a powerful way," and she incorporates the Whole Person Coaching method and NLP tools to work with the mindset.
References:
[1] “Giving thanks can make you happier”. Aug 14 2021. Harvard Health publishing
