Gratitude positively impacts our body, our mind, and possibly every aspect of our life. Like a boomerang, whenever we express gratitude, we emit positivity and positivity comes right back at us.
In fact, neuroscientists tell us that when we are grateful, our brain releases dopamine and serotonin, the two crucial neurotransmitters responsible for our emotions that make us feel good and enhance our mood. Gratitude activates the limbic system, the part of the brain responsible for all emotional experiences, our memory, and many bodily functioning, and it activates the hypothalamus, the part of our brain that regulates all bodily functions like getting a good night’s sleep which can help us feel very refreshed and energetic in the morning.
But we don’t need neuroscientists to reaffirm the highs we feel when whenever we are grateful, and when gratitude becomes a habit, whether we are doing a good deed for others or silently acknowledging our blessings, we become healthier, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, our relationships thrive and we attract more positivity into our life.
Today, many people are pausing to be thankful. While 2020 has brought more than its share of uncertainty and even adversity, we can still pause to be grateful for at least one blessing we have in our life. If we can form a habit of being grateful, we can transform ourselves and positively impact others around us. We can develop this practice by:
- Keeping a journal. Writing down daily for at least 21 days 3 things for which we are grateful can help us become more intentional and develop a habit. (check out Shawn Acor’s Gratitude Challenge).
- Give. It’s that simple. Giving something you love to someone can trigger a positive reaction more impactful than exercise or eating your favorite snack, and that act of kindness positively affects the other person as well.
- Challenge yourself to adopt a growth mindset, it can be as easy as turning off negative internal chatter and encouraging yourself to have a more pleasant reflection over the abundant goodness in your life, your strengths, and your accomplishments.
Being thankful doesn’t have to happen just once a year, but be intentional about starting a new habit today of being grateful and see how life can become a constant source of infinite blessing.
#gratitude #growthmindset #UNFLTRD
Simon, thank you so much and I’m so grateful (no pun intended) that you enjoyed it. Peace, harmony, positivity, empathy and kindness right back at you 🙂
Great post. It took me far too many years to appreciate the value of gratitude. While I did not enjoy or wish for some of the issues that have entered my life, I am now grateful for how the experience shaped my life. Friedrich Nietzsche, the German philosopher, famously said: “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”
That quote, Frank, is a powerful one that we take for granted except when we realize how meaningful it truly is.
A fine and meaningful essay, Mohamed. More and more the medical profession are ‘admitting’ that for example ‘positivity’ triggers positive ‘messengers’ such as endorphins and the dopamine and serotonin. Very negative people spread their downward attitude to others who can be affected. Negativity is infectious and Positivity is like a proactive vaccine!
Gratitude; saying ‘thank you’, especially when the individual does not expect it, can have a most enlightening result. I champion Positivity and engage with people; some who can look a bit down; ask questions, gain empathy, thus communicating on the same wavelength.
It is said that to give is better than to receive. This works both ways, of course.
Wishing you Peace, Harmony, Positivity, Empathy and Kindness.
Simon Lever