Gratitude: Life's Engine Oil
Outside of the American holiday, Thanksgiving, gratitude can show up beyond fixing a second helping of turkey and stuffing. If you're like me, you may often feel great responsibility to carry the weight of your own problems (and others) on your own. Being an innate "problem solver" certainly has its advantages. Things get done, initiatives are achieved, and we can directly help others through our own doings. We get to experience that quick hit of dopamine and reassurance when "we solved it". We get external validation from the world by accomplishing, reinforcing our behavior to drive forward. If you were to ask me, I think more people should experience these traits. However, If we're not careful, this could lead to higher levels of anxiety, fatigue, irritability and possibly isolation....trust me as I've felt them all.
How can we balance the innate drive to move forward while maintaining our overall well-being? This leads us to explore the world of self care. Now, there are a million interventions we can install into our lives to counter balance the residue that comes from "driving forward". This could be exercise, healthy eating, sleep, etc. I want to highlight a value that sits in the spiritual health bucket, known as gratitude.
Gratitude: Turns What We Have Into Enough
Not only is gratitude a more sustainable way of living, it provides the ease to our dis-ease when life becomes too much. Think of yourself like a car. If we fail to get regular oil changes, the car runs ineffectively and long term damage will occur. Gratitude acts as the oil change to our human engine. It ensures all the aspirational endeavors we want to accomplish and life's curveballs don't "burnout" our engine.
If you're also like me, all of this concept sounds great, however is there any proof to support these claims? Gratitude is actually one of the more researched spiritual health practices that has a growing body of supporting evidence. Below is a list of wellness highlights that can manifest from this practice:
- Reduced symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. It promotes positive emotions, increases life satisfaction, and enhances overall psychological well-being (Wood, A.M., Joseph S., & Maltby, J. 2009)
- Greater resilience and adaptive coping strategies when facing challenging life events or trauma. (Wood, A. M., Froh, J. J., & Geraghty, A. W. 2010)
- Improved sleep quality, reduce sleep latency, and increase sleep duration. (Jackowska, M., Brown, J., Ronaldson, A., & Steptoe, A. 2016).
- Better physical health outcomes, including reduced inflammation, improved heart health, and stronger immune function. (Mills, P. J., Redwine, L., Wilson, K., Pung, M. A., Chinh, K., Greenberg, B. H., ... & Chopra, D. 2015).
Imagine engaging in life experiencing positive affect in the above categories. Unlike traditional medication, there are no negative side effects that counterbalance the health benefits here.
Starting Your Practice: 3 Steps
If you're looking to incorporate this practice into your daily life, all you'll need is 5 minutes, paper and pen. Below is my go-to routine for beginners when it comes to bringing more gratitude in their lives.
- Carve out time in which you'll be less likely to get disrupted. Whether it's first thing in the morning or before bed, build this into a time of day that is free from distractions.
- With your pen, write out 3 things that happened that day (or the day prior) that you're grateful for. This can be in bullet form, sentences or full on paragraphs.
- Circle the one you'd like to try and focus on moving into the next 24 hours. Reflect on why that one matters most right now.
After a handful of sessions, you'll begin to notice how we put our problems in perspective. We become more appreciative for what we have, those around us and shift to a more positive state.