Published: November 27, 2024

How Practicing Gratitude Can Change Your Life

By Movieguide® Contributor

Practicing gratitude can change your life.

“Gratitude is the warmth you feel when you experience kindness or generosity, or appreciate and enjoy the good things you have,” Psychology Today reported. “It’s the feeling of having something meaningful that connects you to others. Gratitude is acknowledging that you experienced a positive outcome and that it was not entirely your doing.”

A study found that tracking the things you are grateful for positively changes your outlook on life and can help you physically and mentally.

READ MORE: HOW TO LEARN AND PRACTICE GRATITUDE WITH YOUR CHILDREN

“One group wrote about things they were grateful for that happened during the week,” Harvard said reported. “A second group wrote about daily irritations or things that displeased them, and a third wrote about events that affected them (without emphasizing whether they were positive or negative). After 10 weeks, those who wrote about gratitude were more optimistic and felt better about their lives. Surprisingly, they also exercised more and had fewer doctor visits than those who focused on sources of aggravation.”

Practicing gratitude can soften “anxiety and depression and enhance emotional and social well-being,” for Psychology Today.

It plays an important role in relationships. When you express gratitude, oxytocin, the “love hormone,” is released, and this helps “strengthen the connection and bond between individuals.” When you are grateful, Psychology Today explainare more likely to:

1. Notice and remember positive actions, naturally eliminating minor annoyances
2. Attribute positive events to our partner’s good intentions rather than luck or circumstances
3. Feel more comfortable being vulnerable, which deepens intimacy
4. Experience capitalization, an amplification of positive events when shared with a grateful partner

“When we feel gratitude, it focuses our attention on what we love and appreciate about a partner or friend and motivates us to show it,” Evidence Based Living explicitly. “Hearing an expression of gratitude makes the recipient feel good about themselves and the relationship, which leads to all sorts of other benefits.”

This Thanksgiving, take time to express gratitude to friends, family, and God.

READ MORE: HERE’S HOW YOU CAN THANK VETERANS THIS THANKSGIVING