The Gratitude Attitude: Cultivating Positivity in Daily Life
intentional actions to nourish positivity can be influential. Positivity is an advantageous trait that triggers continuous growth, provides resilience, and maintains psychological well-being. One effective pathway to enhancing positivity is fostering an attitude of gratitude in our daily life.
Gratitude, as simply put, is the act of acknowledging and appreciating the good things in our lives. It is more than just saying "thank you"; it is a way to perceive and interpret our life experiences with a positive lens. Research shows that gratitude can enhance our overall well-being, reduce stress, make us feel happier, and improve the quality of our relationships.
How can we cultivate this positivity-inspiring attitude?
1. Keep a Gratitude Journal: A helpful practice is keeping a gratitude journal, wherein one can record at least three things daily for which they are grateful. This simple action can aid in shifting the focus to positive experiences. Try to focus on the "why" behind your three daily things to further enhance the effects of the attitude of gratitude.
2. Gratitude Jar: Another powerful visual activity is to maintain a gratitude jar where small notes holding grateful acknowledgments are kept. Watching this jar fill up becomes a constant reminder of our blessings.
3. Letter of Gratitude: Writing a letter of gratitude to someone who has positively impacted our lives is not only helpful for us but can also improve our relationship with that person.
4. The "Silver Lining" Mindset: Try to find the good in every difficult situation. Just like every cloud has a silver lining, every challenge has a lesson, and noticing this can help foster gratitude.
5. Practice Mindfulness: Being fully present and embracing the moment allows us to appreciate our current circumstances. Mindfulness practices, such as meditation or yoga, can assist us in anchoring ourselves in the present.
Activity: The Gratitude Walk
This simple yet effective activity involves taking a quiet walk in an environment where you feel comfortable – it could be a nearby park, your garden, or even around your house. As you walk, try to observe as many things as you can that you find pleasing and comforting. It could be the sound of the wind, the chirping of birds, the pattern of the leaves, or even the feeling of the ground beneath your feet. Add these observations to your gratitude journal or jar when you return home.
Cultivating a gratitude attitude takes time, practice, and patience. It is not about ignoring the negatives in life, but about choosing to focus more on the positives. Stitched together with an attitude of gratitude, life becomes less about what we lack or want, and more about what we have and appreciate. This can make us more positive, and that leads to enhancing our overall perceived satisfaction and happiness.
Discussion Question
Did you try the activity above? How do you think gratitude helps/can help you?
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@SoulfullyAButterfly
I did the activity above yesterday while walking around my home doing work
I think being gratified helps me, not necessarily gratitude.
When I'm gratified I feel a wonderful bonhomie, compassion and contentment.
Gratitude itself is a concept I still struggle with as it was weaponized when I was young.
I've kept a gratitude journal for about a decade and practiced numbers four and five today.
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@SoulfullyAButterfly
Thank you for this wonderful article with so useful ideas!
I once read (in "The How of Happiness" by Sonja Lyubomirsky) that, according to empirical research, practicing gratitude is the most powerful tool we have to feel better. There are many others, but gratitude has the highest impact.
There is so much to be grateful for! To start with, almost all the Universe is made of inert matter. Among that vast amount of inert matter, we are alive, conscious beings. Aware of our existence, and our surroundings. That's almost magical! Think about it!
I agree that even if this is true, it takes practice and effort to attain this mindset. Maybe our species is hardwired to focus on the negative. Our ancient ancestors who devoted their time to contemplation of beauty didn't survive the attack of predators and rivals. While those always scanning for trouble, thinking in worst-case scenarios did much better at survival. They were not happy, but survived, and we inherited their unhappy genes.
Most of us have the luxury now, in much safer environments, to train our mindset in a positive direction.
I used to do a practice similar to the Gratitude Journal. Writing a list of people I feel grateful to. From the past to the present, for big and small things. Now and then adding more people to the list. It might get very long.
And then reading the list and thinking for a moment about each of them, and feeling all the good they have done to me. It works powerfully for me. I learned this exercise from Pema Chödron's "Noble Heart" retreat lectures (highly recommended!).
Answering your question, this afternoon, following your instructions, I took a Gratitude Walk in the Botanical Garden, which is a few blocks from my home, and it was great. I go there now and then, with a more aesthetic and even scientific attitude. Plants are so interesting, mysterious life forms! Not obvious at all.
But this time was different. In a way, was like benefiting even more, "capitalizing" from all those previous visits. Like not only "How beautiful and marvelous and mysterious!" But "Thank you for the beauty, for the intense feeling of life itself!" And for making the oxygen I breathe. And plants in general, the food we need to be alive. I felt very connected to Life. And more conscious of myself as a living being, so vastly complex. And very grateful for that. This became very big and bad things seemed smaller.
It was a wonderful experience. I will certainly repeat it.
I thank you for this teaching, and for giving me a reason to try it. I need external motivation sometimes, even for things that I know are good and I should be doing.
So thank you very very much, I feel very grateful to you for all this! 💜
Gratitude and a strong sense of compassion go a long way. Thank you for the new ways to show gratitude. 😊 I have tried the silver-lining mindset, journaling, mindfulness, meditation, and yoga. They do anchor you and make you feel greatful for life even when things are maybe not so great.
Thank you again, @SoulfullAButterfly. I will incorporate these new wonderful ideas into my life. Hugs to you. 🤗💜
❤️ I did, and I think gratitude can help by reminding us of the good things. When things go wrong, we tend to fall into a cognitive distortion and think that everything is wrong. When that happens, gratitude can challenge that thought and let us remember not only that not everything is wrong but also that a lot of things are wonderful. ❤️
