I won’t lie and say that I was ready for the holiday season. Although, I do feel that way every year. I definitely was not ready for the snow the week of Thanksgiving (aka I guess I’ll just get to the leaves in the spring then and hard could it be to pull my grill through the snow taking it back to the shed?). No matter our levels of preparedness (or lack thereof), Thanksgiving landed and Christmas is just around the corner. It seriously feels weird just typing that sentence. So what are you doing to get ready to celebrate and focus on the holidays? Gifts, food prep, travel plans, etc., plus a million other things that will contribute to your stress and general feeling of being overwhelmed.
If I may offer you a humble holiday suggestion that may prove to be a better option: gratitude. We all know this word, and have probably been grateful at some point in our lives. Yet, having gratitude can be more than an emotion or feeling. It can be more than a response to a gift. Gratitude can be a practice, an act, a daily ritual. My challenge to you and myself, as well, is to, this holiday season, start living a life of gratitude. Gratitude, as a daily practice becomes a powerful tool, to not only benefit those around us, but to improve ourselves and our quality of life as well.
A
leader in this field of gratitude study (yep, that’s a thing) is Robert
Emmons, Ph.D a professor of psychology at the University of
California, Berkeley. He has studied the effects of gratitude in depth
and has published research and written books on the topic. Emmons
attributes the following improvements with practicing gratitude:
• Stronger immune systems
• Less bothered by aches and pains
• Lower blood pressure
• Exercise more and take better care of their health
• Sleep longer and feel more refreshed upon waking
• Higher levels of positive emotions
• More alert, alive, and awake
• More joy and pleasure
• More optimism and happiness
• More helpful, generous, and compassionate
• More forgiving
• More outgoing
• Feel less lonely and isolated.
Look at your life and your health. Could you use some of those listed improvements? I know I could! We spend billions on pharmaceuticals, chasing these qualities. Yet, if we listen to Dr. Emmons, these traits could be ours just by practicing gratitude. So how can we do this? There are obviously many ways such as surrounding yourself with positive people, etc. However, Emmons’ most common recommendation, is a tool he uses in his research: keeping a gratitude journal. He states, “Establish a daily practice in which you remind yourself of the gifts, grace, benefits, and good things you enjoy. Setting aside time on a daily basis to recall moments of gratitude associated with ordinary events, your personal attributes, or valued people in your life gives you the potential to interweave a sustainable life theme of gratefulness.”
Essentially, stop and recognize the good in your life, everyday and be grateful. Everyday create this focus and write down what you are makes you thankful. It almost seems too simple. Yet, that’s the beauty. If we could reap any of the aforementioned benefits for such a simple practice, why wouldn’t you make the time to make a gratitude journal a priority? In practical terms, here’s how you do it: upon waking write down three things you are thankful for. That’s it. In Emmons research that was the method used. Do this each morning, reap the benefits.
I wish you all a very happy holidays! I hope it’s your best yet. Further, I hope it will be a time of great gratitude for you and in turn great health and happiness!
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