How can I be happier?
OF COURSE, you want to be happy! Everyone does.
Happiness can sometimes feel a little hard to come by, though. Given how stressful, busy and difficult our lives can be and with everything going on in the world, it can be difficult to find things to be happy about.
There is one simple thing that you can do anytime and any place that guarantees you to be happier...
Want to know what it is?
Simple... It's gratitude.
Ok, so how does that work?
Well, experts advise that, “Gratitude supports happiness.” It promotes “feeling purposeful and connected and cultivating satisfaction and self worth, as well as simply feeling pleasure.”
So when you take the time to be grateful, there are both physical and emotional benefits.
Gratitude can:
Reduce pain
Decrease stress
Improve immune function
Lower blood pressure
Enhance heart health
Decrease anxiety and stress
Reduce depression risk
That’s on top of the positive impact it has on our psychological well being!
You’ll find your self-esteem is lifted, your emotions generally become more positive, and you develop a more optimistic view of the world around you.
Your body produces a lot more feel-good chemicals, like oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin that improve your mood, induce feelings of generosity and trust, increase pleasure sensations, and even help you feel connected to those around you.
And the best part... practicing gratitude is so EASY!
Actively be thankful out loud for one small thing every day
Notice small acts of kindness from others and show appreciation
Pay attention to people who are friendly, polite, and kind to you
Acknowledge the good things in your life
Being more grateful will improve your health on every level. So if you haven't yet, start now!
It's something I start and end my day with, everyday. It literally only takes a few minutes, yet has made a massive difference in my life.
There's one other level of gratitude that we need to be more aware of too, and that is self-gratitude, gratitude toward yourself.
It’s easier to be grateful for someone else who does nice things for you, or some external factor that makes you happy. But it can be more difficult to praise and be grateful for ourselves.
It can sometimes feel like we’re being a bit vain when we practice self-gratitude. Or we have a hard time seeing the truth about just how much we’re accomplishing or how much progress we’ve made.
Which is why it’s even more important to practice self-gratitude!
You don’t have to say it out loud or share it with anyone else. But it is important that you take some time everyday to pay attention to the things you do and what you bring into your life, and acknowledge it—even if it's just thinking about it.
Acknowledging how far you have come, what you have overcome and that you are a great person can actually re-program your mind to make you feel happier.
You’ll start to notice the positive changes, the effort you’re investing, and the progress that you’re seeing as a result.
Over time, you’ll be more compassionate with yourself, less judgmental of the mistakes you make and perhaps more patient.
So, how can you practice self-gratitude?
Create a simple statement that acknowledges what you do and why. For instance, I am grateful for how I am changing the future for my family by studying and getting a better job.
Make sure you set a time for daily gratitude. As I said before, it only takes a few minutes. So even if you set a reminder on your phone to begin with for 2-5 minutes and then quietly go through all you are grateful for.
Spending time counting your blessings for all the good things you have in life and giving yourself at least 60 seconds to practice self-gratitude during that time too.
Yes it IS that simple!
The more you get into the habit of practicing gratitude and self-gratitude, the easier it will become to notice the good things in your life, the world around you and about yourself
It will change you to become a more positive person overall—not just about your circumstances and the world around you, but about YOU, too.
Over time, you’ll change your thought, speech, and behavioral patterns to be more positive. This change alone can bring about so much more happiness in your life because you are actively looking for the good to highlight.
Small daily acts of gratitude and self-gratitude are guaranteed to make you happier!
So there you have it. Give it a go!
Coz lovely people, we all deserve to be happy!
However, that starts with US first, nobody else can make us happy. That job is ours and ours alone.
x
Kim