How Gratitude Can Change Your Life and Your Mind

 I honestly believe that a little gratitude can go a long way. A big part of my lifestyle is practicing gratitude because it has made me become a happier person. It has changed my mindset when going after goals, believing in myself and looking at the bright side in every situation. It’s a lot easier than people make it out to be.

Why You Should Practice Gratitude:

1. Dr. Emmons, a leading gratitude researcher, has proven that gratitude increases happiness and lowers depression.
2. Gratitude side effects: happiness, determination, enthusiasm, better sleep, energy and much more!!!
3. Nothing will come from feeling sorry for yourself, but everything will come to you if you train your brain to look for the positives in every situation.

How You Can Practice It:

1. Get into the habit of waking up every morning and saying “Wow I’m grateful for…” or “I’m thankful for…”
2. Write it down!
3. Tell someone you appreciate them! – Just imagine how great this would make them feel.
4. Turn a negative into a positive!

When you feel like you have nothing to be grateful for…

We’ve all been there. Feeling tired, sick, stressed, alone, anxious or depressed. Everyone at some point has felt like they have nothing and no one on their side. My go to when I feel like I have nothing is: I have all of my limbs, I can see, I can hear, I can walk, I can talk, and I have food to eat at every meal – thank you. After all of that has been said and done I go from having nothing to having everything. Don’t forget about the simple things in life that we take for granted.

Why I Started:

I feel like I have always been grateful, but my gratefulness wasn’t consistent until recently. I took a yoga class about a month ago and at the beginning of the class, the instructor said something that stuck with me. She said that you had the option to start class in two different ways. You could be thinking in your head “Help me. Help me. Help me.” OR you could be thinking “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” Since then I have started almost every morning and yoga class with “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” If you ever feel like you have to start the day with “Help me.” then make sure you finish the day with “Thank you” because I promise you always have something to be grateful for and it will make you feel so much better to put it out there. Say it, write it, text it, think it and you will start to see your life and mind change.

I know this post is a little different than my others, but I do want to start sharing more lifestyle with you. I feel like gratitude has changed my life in so many ways and I wanted to be able to share it with you because it might easily change yours too! Be kind, be grateful and be understanding and you will be happy.

With love, Melissa