This is a very special week, in Brisbane and around the globe, where families gather and celebrate Christmas, our favourite holiday at The Henry Wong Team®. It’s a time for bonding, sharing and laughter, which many of us really need after a tough 2020. It’s also a time for gratitude, for being thankful for the good things in our life and the people around us.
Gratitude is an incredibly powerful emotion that can really enhance positivity and productivity in our lives. We feel it in different ways, we express it in different ways and we channel it in different ways. But what is undeniable is that if we make the most of a time for gratitude we can enjoy real benefits towards our health, outlook and mindset.
So today we want to take a deeper look at how gratitude can benefit us.
What is Gratitude?
First, let’s take a look at the definition of gratitude:
“The quality of being thankful; ready to show appreciation for and to return kindness.”
It’s much more than just saying thank you. It’s an immersive feeling that fills you with good vibes and makes you want to spread them to others. You’re shown kindness and you want to show that same kindness to others.
That’s a great cycle of positivity to be in.
The Benefits of Gratitude
Here are a few of the benefits we can enjoy when we practice gratitude. We hope you enjoy these as you navigate your way through the busy Christmas holiday period. But we also urge you to practice gratitude all throughout the year! It would be amazing to experience these positive outcomes on an ongoing basis.
A Happiness Boost: It makes sense… focus on the good things in your life, and the bad will slowly fade into the background. Studies have shown that people who wrote about and expressed gratitude showed a massive increase in happiness scores. The mood boosts were not just ‘in-passing’ either, often lasting longer than a month.
Increase self-esteem: It’s been proven in a study on athletes that gratitude increases self-esteem, which is a strong factor in boosting performance. If you’re grateful for what you have, you don’t resent people who have more than you. You can appreciate their accomplishments as well as your own whilst making no comparisons between the two.
Improved Relationships: Ok, so it’s good manners to say thank you. But there’s more to it. When you show your appreciation to people, they’re going to like you more for it.
Become More Optimistic: When you focus on being grateful, you find there’s so much in your life to be grateful for. As you start notice all the good things you receive, your outlook changes to one of optimism and joy. Everything good become more evident and you start to expect goodness in the future. The result? A sunny, optimistic persona.
Improved Physical Health: People who practice gratitude are more likely to take care of their physical health. They appreciate their body and want to reward it, so exercise more and visit health professionals more regularly. As a result, they’re generally fitter and have fewer aches and pains than others.
Sleep Better: A grateful outlook keeps toxic thoughts and emotions at bay. So when you lay down to go to sleep at night, your mind isn’t full of clutter. It’s relaxed and content, so as a result drifting off to sleep is no problem. The positive thoughts find their way into your dreams too, meaning a longer, more uninterrupted sleep. When you wake up you feel good and refreshed, and the cycle of positivity continues.
Become More Motivated: The positive vibes of gratitude will put a spring in your step and provide motivation at home and particularly in the workplace. Why? Because you’re feeling valued. You have an opportunity to express gratitude, which means you acknowledge you’re receiving something. The opportunity to receive, feel gratitude and pay it forward makes you feel valued and motivated to achieve more.
How to Be More Grateful?
The Christmas holidays are a time of giving, making it easier to feel gratitude now than at other times. But how can we extend that time for gratitude throughout the year and enjoy the multiple benefits we mentioned above? It’s as simple as a few mindset changes and small actions.
It’s up to you to make the decision to show more gratitude. Purposefully think of everything that is good in your life, and internally feel your appreciation for it. Then start turning gratitude into a habit.
Every day you could jot down a few things you’re grateful for, keeping a ‘gratitude journal’ of sorts. You can focus on showing your appreciation more fully to people for their actions. Look people in the eye when you say ‘thank you’ and give them a smile. Maybe even write them an email or letter explaining what they mean to you.
Slowly you’ll rewire your brain to be more grateful.
You know what? The Henry Wong Team® is grateful to you, our readers, clients and followers. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you.
If you’re in Brisbane and we can help you out with moving onto the next stage in your life, please get in touch. We’d love to help you.
