Why we need more gratitude
With the end of year approaching, for many of us this means endless to-do lists, tiredness, Christmas shopping, and celebrations with a full calendar of social events… by putting everyone else first during these busy times, we may just end up forgetting ourselves in the equation. One of our Scout yoga instructor, Camille, is sharing her thoughts on the power of gratitude and how it can be efficient on a daily basis or whenever things start to get a little overwhelming, as well as her favourite easy-to-implement gratitude practices.
There’s a reason why gratitude has such an important place in the yoga practice. Countless studies have proven its positive impact on our health, well-being and overall happiness. Indeed, our minds have been programmed to focus on the negative and fears – a survival mechanism that aims at protecting us from any potential danger or life-threatening event. A gratitude practice aims at shifting our perspective when we get stuck in negative thoughts and worries.
But what exactly is gratitude?
There are many definitions of gratitude and I particularly connect with this short one that says it all: “Gratitude is the appreciation of what is valuable and meaningful to oneself and represents a general state of thankfulness and/or appreciation” (Sansone & Sansone, 2010).
Gratitude is the practice of acknowledging all the good things that make up our lives, but also to recognize that many of these good things come from outside of ourselves. Indeed, we are usually grateful for acts of kindness from people around us, for the beautiful nature or animals rather than for ourselves.
Benefits of a gratitude practice
In a nutshell, a gratitude practice can bring (but is not limited to) all these positive things:
- Focuses us back on the present moment
- Blocks toxic and negative emotions
- Positively shifts our perspective
- Reduces stress
- Increases our resilience
- Improves sleep and decreases fatigue
Easy ways to cultivate gratitude in your everyday life:
Gratitude can be practiced in many different ways, but some of my favourite practices include:
- Counting the daily blessings: either every morning or at night before sleep, I love to simply think of the list of positive things that happened in my day (or the day before) – I don’t necessarily write them down, but it is a very quick and effective way to feel much more positive about my day.
- Appreciating the little and simple things: usually when I walk in the street or in nature, I take a short moment to appreciate the beautiful things that I can immediately see around me (the warmth of the sun, a beautiful flower, or colourful bird, the smile of a stranger…etc) and this instantly takes me into the present moment and out of my worries of the day.
- Journaling: If you are more of a writer, writing down and listing positive things and lessons that you have experienced recently can be very effective too and allows you to be able to read through your list again whenever you feel the need to shift your perspective. I usually enjoy journaling when I have a bit more time for myself, very often when I am on holidays.
References:
Benefits of gratitude, https://positivepsychology.com/benefits-of-gratitude/
Why gratitude is good, https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_gratitude_is_good
Find your Strength, Rachael Coopes - 2022