Why is Gratitude So Important?
You may have heard about the importance of expressing gratitude or starting a daily practice, but do you know why people recommend it so often? Aside from the fact that it is always a good idea to be more grateful and appreciative of the good things in your life, there are some other ways it can benefit you.
Helps Reduce Toxic Mindset Patterns
This probably sounds familiar to you. One bad thing happens to you, then suddenly 20 more bad things happen to you. It seems to create this avalanche effect that you can’t seem to help. But what if that happened simply because of your own toxic mindset? You assume bad things will happen, then they do. This isn’t an accident or a coincidence.
With gratitude, no matter what is going on in your life, you find a way to be grateful. The more you focus on the good things, the better your life seems to get.
Can Reduce Your Stress Levels
There is this amazing effect that occurs when you start expressing more gratitude. The stress you have in your life begins to diminish. It isn’t going to magically disappear, but suddenly what you were worried about doesn’t seem as important. The big things you thought were “the worst” no longer ruin your days, because you understand how many good things happen to you.
Makes You a More Forgiving and Empathetic Person
As you start focusing on your gratitude, you get some other behavioral benefits as well. It starts becoming easier to forgive people for something they might have done or said that hurt your feelings, and you become a much more empathetic person. You understand people’s struggles a little better as you see the joy in your own life. You become a more well-rounded person who is grateful for everything, the good and the bad.
Allows You to Appreciate Your Life, Even Through Hard Times
Lastly, you start to appreciate your life more, regardless of the day you are having. You become so accustomed to showing gratitude for every little thing, that when you get a flat tire or you have a hard day at work, you can still focus on the good things and these stressful situations aren’t so bad after all.
The beauty of gratitude is that your mind opens up to your life as a whole, and how balanced it is, not just dwelling on what you believe is a flaw in your life.
If you would like to dive into learning more about all the ways you can take control of your mindset - I'd like to invite you to register for a Free 10-Day Silencing Self Doubt Challenge.
Gratitude was one of the first practices that I personally put into place when I made the choice to work on my own mindset. I was sick of letting my anxiety and depression take over. I wanted to be happy. I wanted to feel like I was present and enjoying my life, instead of being a passenger on a really crappy ride that I didn't even want to be on.
I attribute the practice of gratitude whole-heartedly to the ability to work through the grief process of unexpectedly losing my sister. With some hard work prior to losing her, I have been able to replace the feelings of sadness and anger about losing her with gratitude for the time we did have together (even it it's not an immediate switch, it happens eventually and doesn't let the grief take over).
Learn more about the power of gratitude and some example of how to put it into practice in The Power of Gratitude (a 14-page ebook that will put you on the path to introducing a practice of gratitude into your daily routine).