The Power of Gratitude!
As we launch into November a lot of us immediately start to focus on the upcoming holidays. Leading up to Thanksgiving, like many, I try to make a conscious decision to focus on things I am grateful for. As I was working on my podcast content for the month I thought I’d take us through some exercise to help us look at Gratitude from 3 different perspectives in our lives - what we are grateful for from our past (good & bad) that has led us to who we are today, what we are grateful for today in this moment, and then finally have gratitude for the blessings that are coming our way and how to trust God's abundance!
To kick us off, in today’s message we will dive into what is gratitude and why is it important…
What is the difference between grateful & gratitude - for me - being grateful is a feeling we get when something good happens in our lives or someone does something for us whereas gratitude is a constant state of being. Being Grateful depends on outside circumstances and gratitude comes from inside of us. That being said when we learn to LOOK for things to be grateful for we will build gratitude inside of us. We can control both!
When I went to the all knowing and powerful GOOGLE this is what I found:
One Definition - the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
And I really like this one…
What does Gratitude really mean?
Gratitude is a warm feeling of thankfulness towards the world, or towards specific individuals. The person who feels gratitude is thankful for what they have, and does not constantly seek more.
As I dove deeper into Gratitude I found these resources that share the power of having gratitude:
In an article on www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat I found this information and research study:
In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.
Research on gratitude
Two psychologists, Dr. Robert A. Emmons of the University of California, Davis, and Dr. Michael E. McCullough of the University of Miami, have done much of the research on gratitude. In one study, they asked all participants to write a few sentences each week, focusing on particular topics.
One group wrote about things they were grateful for that had occurred during the week. A second group wrote about daily irritations or things that had displeased them, and the third wrote about events that had affected them (with no emphasis on them being positive or negative). After 10 weeks, those who wrote about gratitude were more optimistic and felt better about their lives.(not surprising right? ) Surprisingly, they also exercised more and had fewer visits to physicians than those who focused on sources of aggravation.
From Forbes.com I found 7 Scientifically Proven Benefits Of Gratitude That Will Motivate You To Give Thanks Year-Round … 2 of the 7 included :
Grateful people sleep better. Writing in a gratitude journal improves sleep, according to a 2011 study published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being. Spend just 15 minutes jotting down a few grateful sentiments before bed, and you may sleep better and longer.
Gratitude improves self-esteem. A 2014 study published in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology found that gratitude increased an athlete's self-esteem, which is an essential component to optimal performance. Other studies have shown that gratitude reduces social comparisons. Rather than becoming resentful toward people who have more money or better jobs – which is a major factor in reduced self-esteem- grateful people are able to appreciate other people’s accomplishments.
I even found a few articles that said having an attitude of gratitude can even help you make more money!
I do believe that to be true & It’s really a biblical principle when we appreciate & give thanks to God for what we have and what He has blessed us with, we will be given more.
By this point you might be saying “OK Sheri, I get WHY I need to have more gratitude in my life, but how ?” Perhaps, you are even thinking right now you aren’t sure what you do have to be grateful for - with so much going on… I get that! With so much stuff happening in our world it can be hard to have an attitude of gratitude…But it truly comes down to what are we looking for? If we seek it, we can find it!
One idea to help you look for the things to be grateful for and start becoming that person filled with gratitude is - a gratitude journal - perhaps you’ve heard of this or maybe you’ve done them before? I’ll admit I have done them in the past and then I usually stop when life seems to be going right. My goal is to start one up again in November and this year not stop!
Here are some tips to start your gratitude journal:
Each night before bed or first thing in the am jot down 1-5 things you are grateful for.
Can be a person, a thing, an attribute - it can be your hot cup of coffee or roof over your head.
Some days it may flow easily but others you may have to dig deep.. But everyday write down something.
Commit to do this for 30 days and let’s see what happens!
Who will commit to this challenge with me? Let me know if you will take the challenge by sending me an email - sherimiterco@gmail.com or DM on Instagram or Facebook @SheriMiter
Join me on the next episode as we dive into why & how to be grateful for everything that has happened in our past (good & bad) as it’s made us who we are today. May you find much to be grateful for today!
Click below to hear the entire Podcast: