The Attitude of Gratitude

Gratitude involves acknowledging and being grateful for those people, events and things which add value to our life. While we are brought up being taught to express our gratitude to those who have helped us by saying ‘thank you,’ there can be something beyond just being polite in showing gratitude. We can actually practice gratitude as a way of focusing on all those meaningful things happening around us.

Life can be very hectic and chaotic; work, relationships, obligations and other stresses can occupy our whole life. Practicing gratitude might help us to slow down, see all those positive things happening and be thankful for them.

There are some findings in the literature about the relationship between gratitude and wellbeing as well as about how gratitude can be helpful for our mental health. However, gratitude does not guarantee mental health condition prevention or treatment.

What Is Gratitude?

Gratitude is an emotion of thankfulness toward something worthwhile in your life.

Gratitude can be a variety of things – a good friend who supports you, a family member who takes care of you, a quiet morning, a tasty dinner, fulfilling work, or even a little thing that made you happy.

Gratitude doesn’t necessarily imply everything being okay. You can be thankful for the things in your life and still be sad, worried, or upset about something else.

Gratitude and Mental Wellbeing

Gratitude is mentioned quite frequently within the context of positive psychology as it is related to positive emotions and wellbeing.

For instance, the American Psychiatric Association’s article on practising gratitude to boost mental wellbeing states that gratitude is connected with such emotions as hope, inspiration and forgiveness and gives references to studies aimed at exploring the possibility of developing gratitude intentionally.

As a result, one randomized controlled study, where more than 200 people took part, showed that a six-week gratitude program that included gratitude journaling and other gratitude exercises worked better in terms of increasing well-being when compared with control groups. Moreover, some results lasted for six months.

It should be noted that it does not imply that gratitude can substitute therapy or medication. It can be only one element of the strategy for psychological well-being.

Benefits of Practising Gratitude

Gratitude practice might enable you to:

• Be aware of positive moments that one might miss.
• Pay more attention to important aspects of daily life.
• Create a sense of appreciation and hope.
• Experience a sense of connection with others.
• Have a better perspective during challenging times.
• Develop healthy habits through appreciation of important things.

The research looks promising; however, gratitude practice cannot be viewed as a solution to stress, anxiety, and depression. If you have serious concerns about your mental health, then you should seek help from professionals.

Simple Gratitude Exercises

You don’t have to create an extensive set of steps to start practising gratitude.

Give one of these easy exercises a try:

Recognise one positive thing: At the end of the day, try recognising one positive thing that you noticed. It can be as simple as a discussion, a meal, a coworker’s help, or just quiet time.

Thank somebody sincerely: Say why you appreciate the person instead of just saying “thank you.”

Write a gratitude note: Write a little message to the person who made your life better in some way.

Take a break to notice: Spend some time noticing something valuable instead of going right to the next activity.

Notice small things: Gratitude doesn’t necessarily require any accomplishments; small and daily experiences are valuable as well.

For more ideas, read Harvard Health’s article on how giving thanks can make you happier.

Gratitude Journaling

There are several simple techniques for cultivating the habit of gratitude. One of these techniques is maintaining a gratitude journal.

At the end of each day, you need to write down one to three things that you are grateful for. You can also write down reasons why they matter to you.

For example:

I am grateful for the following today:

1. A friend who was willing to listen to me.
2. A quiet night spent at home.
3. An important task accomplished at work.

It’s not about coming up with the perfect list or trying to find something good every single day. It’s all about developing a habit of being thankful for everything that matters to you.

How to Build a Gratitude Habit

Gratitude gets easier when it becomes seamlessly integrated into your life as a practice.

You might choose to devote five minutes to journaling before bed, appreciate something while drinking your morning tea, or include it in your usual family discussion.

The process should begin gradually; you don’t have to write down an extensive list of items every day. Even appreciating one meaningful item may serve as an initial step towards gratitude.

Perhaps most importantly, gratitude should not add another burden to your shoulders. On tough days, you don’t have to convince yourself to be happy. There is no problem in realising that today was a hard day but acknowledging the small moment of gratitude in it.