Benefits of a Gratitude Practice

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Gratitude as Self Care

Self care has become a priority in my life since adopting a minimalist mindset. I explain in detail below the researched benefits, and also personal benefits of a gratitude practice. I honestly can say it has been the single most important change that has resulted in a much happier self these past few years.

I sneak gratitude in wherever I can. If I notice I’m feeling down, I’ll think of all the people or things that are great in my life. I meditate on aspects of my life that I can appreciate more, and I try to face challenges even with gratitude. I completely changed the way I looked at debt, by making it a challenge and turning it into something to be grateful for. Our debt free journey has inspired me to start my own tutoring business, communicate better with my husband, write a book, and even starting this very blog. Gratitude can be found everywhere.

Add a gratitude practice into your self care routine and you won’t be disappointed. I bought a journal (also created by my dear friend) so that I would have some accountability. I talk more about the journal at the bottom of this post if you’re interested.

Gratitude: A Force Against Pessimism

I actually tend to be pessimistic. It’s easy for me to think if anything can go wrong, it will. I worry about  things I don’t have control over. For example, deciding to be a mom was a struggle for me because I thought perhaps this world wouldn’t be good enough.  Perhaps I wouldn’t be good enough?

One way I fought my own pessimism was with a gratitude practice.  It sounds all “spiritual,” but hear me out with this other example. I recently was spending too much time on media and specifically the news media. I was becoming mindful that it was affecting my mood, my day, and my thoughts. So, I unsubscribed to all the news websites and took a social media detox too. Essentially, I just changed the messages that were being thrown at me every day and eventually my thoughts slowly changed.

A gratitude practice is one way to help control the negative messages and to warp your reality. It makes your brain focus on the good, focus on what is going right and appreciate what is already here. For someone who naturally slides more to pessimism, a gratitude practice has slowly made me more of an optimist.

Here’s another example, we live in what some may call a small townhouse with a very little yard, if you could even call it that. My husband and I love being outside and especially growing a garden, so this was a negative aspect of our home.

However, I started the habit of sitting  outside every evening and watching the sunsets, appreciating our little space in the world. Our back “yard” has become a mecca of various plants like  tomatoes, kale, roses, and bell peppers. There is so much more to appreciate than the lack of space. Gratitude has brought me this gift, of appreciating what is already there. My daughter likes to laugh and tell me “Momma we have everything we need,” which is the sweetest reminder that we do. We have enough. Right now, in this moment.

Researched Benefits of a Gratitude Practice

If you need scientific evidence on top of personal anecdotes take some insights from the professor of psychology at UC Davis Robert Emmons Ph.D. He’s found that “In an experimental comparison, those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis” benefited in these 5 ways.

1. “Exercised more regularly” (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).
2. “Reported fewer physical symptoms” (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).
3. “Felt better about their lives as a whole” (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).
4. “Were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events” (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).
5. Were “more likely to have made progress toward important personal goals (academic, interpersonal and health-based) over a two-month period compared to subjects in the other experimental conditions” (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).

Personal Benefits of a Gratitude Practice

A gratitude practice can be just a habit where you take a moment to appreciate what is here in the present.  Here are the personal benefits I’ve noticed since starting my own gratitude practice.

1. A Gratitude Practice Helps You See the Good in People

When you appreciate other people for their best qualities, the negative aspects of people start to diminish. I see the good in people more often now, and I’d like to think I talk less negatively about people. I’m not perfect, but when you can appreciate the people in your life, you see more good than bad.

2. A Gratitude Practice Motivates You To Care For Your Things

When you actually appreciate and are grateful for the objects in your life that save you time, or bring you joy, you take better care of them. For example, this is the first home we’ve owned, and I must say we take better care of it, because we’re grateful. It’s a smaller space, but I clean more frequently, and we enjoy days just spent inside.

3. A Gratitude Practice Makes You Prioritize Your Time

I used to live in a large house that we rented and shared. It had a beautiful front porch where I could have watched the sunset every night without interruption (I didn’t have a child then), but I never did. It just wasn’t on my radar at that time in my life. I was too “busy.” Now, because I’m grateful for each day I get to spend on this earth I try to make time to watch it’s splendor. I do this instead of working more, or wasting my time on frivolous tasks that give me no benefit.

4. A Gratitude Practice Helps You Waste Less

I would say that minimalism and gratitude are connected in that when you simplify what objects you bring in your home, you use them more efficiently. Same with when you appreciate something, like a whole carton of ruby red raspberries. You eat every last one.

5. A Gratitude Practice Pauses a Worry Cycle

You know the feeling when a nagging thought keeps coming up in your head. It’s probably based on fear, and it just keeps popping up repeatedly. Stopping and thinking about what you are grateful for can pause those negative thoughts, and allow you to mindfully choose a different perspective.

6. A Gratitude Practice Helps You To Be Mindful

If you continually practice being grateful, you’ll recognize throughout the day joyful moments. You’ll slowly warp your own reality to see the good in people, and experiences.

Need Help Starting a Gratitude Practice? Try a Journal 🙂

If you want to get started on a year long gratitude journal writing experience, check this one out!

Join the Discussion

Have you started a gratitude practice? What is stopping you? Where has gratitude positively affected your life? Would love to hear from you in the comments below. 🙂

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Source

Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: Experimental studies of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 377-389.