The Impact of Gratitude

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more,” stated Melody Beattie. In this quote, she emphasizes the importance of gratitude due to the fact it’s beneficial for living a fulfilling and meaningful life. Essentially, it is a virtue that can affect people’s lives in numerous ways, such as improving the quality of life and helping to develop a peaceful mindset.

Gratitude can enhance the well being of a person in many different aspects of their life. This can refer to the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual facets of a human being. People who reflect upon what they are thankful for and practice this habit daily experience satisfaction in life because of their optimistic perspective on most things. Although it can be easy to be ungrateful due to the tendencies of pivoting your attention on negativity, gratitude offers a mindset that allows you to appreciate all the goodness in your life. This mindset greatly reduces stress, increases happiness, and improves health. The state of being grateful provides an abundance of benefits, which all contribute to the welfare of the person.

Much research on gratitude has also validated the benefits of being grateful. One study conducted by two psychologists, Dr. Robert A. Emmons from the University of California, and Dr. Micheal  E. McCullough from the University of Miami, assigned writing prompts to groups of people. One group was asked to write about things they were thankful for while another group wrote about things that made them discontented. Additionally, there was a control group that was instructed to write about anything with no focus on it being negative or positive. Evidently, the results were that the group asked to write about their gratitudes encountered more content and optimism than the rest of the groups. In conclusion, it’s a reasonable occurrence to feel greater happiness when you value the things you have in life.

When you practice gratitude throughout your daily life, you also start to develop inner peace. You begin to cherish the little things in your life and have control over your mind. Negativity can manifest in worrisome thoughts, self-criticism, judgment, and so on; however, these thoughts can be prevented with gratitude because it can change your attitude and establish a positive outlook. Overall, it provides a serene mentality because it enlightens the mind with elation.

The profits of gratitude don’t come overnight, so you have to cultivate it by implementing it in daily life. For example, you can write down what you are grateful for just for a few minutes everyday. This helps in transforming abstract thoughts into reality. Other great ways to express gratitude is by meditating and letting people know that you are grateful for them. These are just some ways to practice gratitude and make it a habit for life.

Gratitude is a powerful emotion that has great impacts on life. In summary, it can provide a sense of satisfaction in life and a tranquil state of mind just by reflecting on the things you have.

Source:

“7 Crucial Reasons Why Gratitude Can Change Your Life.” Wanderlust Worker, 6 June 2020, https://www.wanderlustworker.com/7-crucial-reasons-why-gratitude-can-change-your-life/.