4 Reasons to List Gratitude
Gratitude Lists. Why?
A recent study out of the Journal of Positive Psychology found that keeping a written gratitude list helps to increase hope and happiness more so than not keeping a list. I imagine the reason being is similar to our Food Journaling List. When people start keeping a food journal, they begin increasing the amount of good foods they put into their bodies. Likewise, maybe when we keep a gratitude list, we put more positivity into our soul. I know Gratitude has helped me, big time. Here’s how!
1) It Reminds Me to Find the Positives.
By making a gratitude list I’m forced to find the positives. Some days I wake up on the wrong side of the bed, with a crick in my neck. Sometimes I forget to put the coffee filter in the coffee maker resulting in a flood of coffee in my kitchen first thing in the morning (which is why I switched to French Press). Who doesn’t? We are human. As such, we are going to have bad starts to some days.
During these days it’s important to start focusing on the positives. Spilled coffee? Maybe it’s a sign for a special trip to Starbucks? Yippie! Maybe it’s a golden opportunity to finally mop the kitchen floor. Crick in the neck? Maybe it’s time to treat yourself to a massage or to take a few days off training so hard. In most every scenario there is a positive.
Have a hard time with that? Let’s talk over a consult
2) Increase Acceptance, Decrease Perfectionism
By making that list and forcing the positives, I often find myself in a state of acceptance. And through acceptance I have found freedom dances. It’s so easy for me to look at a negative that’s out of my control. Thinning hair for instance. I look at it and a deep since of sorrow rises up through my abdomen. I start to think of the thousands of products I could use to pause or reverse it, most likely to no avail. I think that If I don’t I’ll be unattractive and become glum.
But if I apply some gratitude this all goes away. When I look into the mirror and start fretting about my hair, I pull up a before and after fitness picture. Well, my hair may be dropping out, but my body is getting stronger and more fit. BAM, acceptance has just occurred! It no longer matters. I can be happy and not perfect!
3) Inspires Motivation & Directs Purpose
By concentrating on the positive, the increase in physical fitness, my motivation increases and the purpose of my day changes. Instead of shopping around online for hair remedies, I hit the cardio and strength training and I hit it hard. I love it, it’s fun and it increases the stuff that just made me feel good. If I’m a product of Pavlovian conditioning.
I can see the good health coming from fitness and it motivates me to do more. This is why I suggest taking before and after pictures. We act based on conditioning. We increase a positive reward to decrease a negative consequence. We increase training and fitness to decrease our time spent out of breath in a stairwell. We improve diet to decrease abdominal fat. We increase our mindfulness to decrease our stress. The list goes on and on.
4) Shows Me What to Work On Next
This may be my favorite one. Have you ever taken an inventory of your fridge and pantry? When you do how many of you are like me, our hands grab the things we love and we are quick to put them on the list. Then we see that can of anchovies or the weird liver sauce grandma brought over last Christmas.
When we see those items, things that we don’t want to add to the list, we have a choice to take action. See when you make a gratitude list you are bound to think about some items that just don’t seem to belong on the list. This is a perfect time to examine them a little deeper. Should we throw it away, or should we find a recipe that can incorporate the weird liver sauce potentially changing our relationship with the ominous can of mystery? Maybe, we will end up being very proud of our grandma’s liver paste! Whatever happens, gratitude is the seed that helps us navigate a personal inventory to better ourselves.
The Wrap
The basic principle here is that we can use gratitude lists in our lives. Gratitude lists aren’t about just avoiding negative states. We can use them to improve our selves, direct our behavior and increase our acceptance and serenity. They help us to live healthier, make wiser decisions, and to become more conscious, smiling people. I know it has worked for me!
What to start a list? Click the button below and I’ll send you a template to get started!