Practicing Gratitude

Earlier this year I added gratitude journaling into my daily practice, and it’s been such a positive change in my life that I want to share it with you. I added this practice into my routine during a time when I felt like I was consumed by my anxiety, stress and trauma even though I knew I was living the life I always dreamed of...

“Gratitude can transform common days into Thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” – Proverb

Psychologists believe that our brains are wired to focus on the negative more than the positive. This negativity bias can have a powerful effect on your relationships, mood, behavior, and decisions. But guess what?! We can do work to change our negativity bias! Our brains have this wonderful ability to change, grow and reorganize itself over time in response to learning and our environment. That ability is called neuroplasticity. The more we shift our focus on the positive aspects of our lives, even the tiniest moments, the more we are building new neural connections to the brain’s “bliss center.” While practicing gratitude our brains release dopamine and serotonin, two powerful neurotransmitters responsible for happiness. Over time transmitting the positive impulses becomes much easier and natural, therefore giving us a totally fresh perspective on the world. Research has shown that those who consistently practice gratitude tend to be less anxious, depressed and happier overall.

Ways to Practice Gratitude:

1. Intelligent Change: The Five Minute Journal. This is the journal that I have and I would absolutely recommend it to everyone. I LOVE the structure: simple, easy gratitude prompts to follow every day. There is also a wonderfully introduction into gratitude journaling which I thoroughly enjoyed reading, and I look forward to the daily quote on each page.

2. “Three Good Things” Exercise. Write down three things that went well for you every night before you go to bed.

3. Write a letter of gratitude to someone. Whether you end up giving the letter to that person is up to you, but just simply writing down the feeling of gratitude for that person is very impactful.

4. Check out this free Gratitude Assessment PDF. Print for free and fill out on a regular basis.

Do you already have a gratitude routine? We would love to hear how you practice and how it’s going for you!

If you add this into your routine after reading this post, don’t forget to circle back and let us know how it’s going and how it has impacted you.

To wrap this up, I want to express my gratitude to you all. Thank you visiting our little corner of the internet, being a part of our community, and showing your love and support as we officially launched FEMelle Wellness this week. Thank you, thank you!

Love,

Jess