During my 2nd year of graduate school, I began experiencing the pendulum of anxiety swinging to depression. Searching for a solution, I ended up taking a workshop on how incorporating a practice of gratitude can help decrease your symptoms of both anxiety and depression. I decided to commit to spending five minutes a day writing what I am grateful for, and on the days where I struggled to find gratitude, I would go back and revisit past entries for inspiration. I found it beneficial because it was gratitude in my own words, not someone telling me to be grateful. This is why I encourage all of my friends, clients and family to start a gratitude practice.
If you have noticed that you have difficulty focusing on the positives rather than the negatives, you are not alone. This is because we have had what is known as the “negativity bias” hardwired in our brains since the primitive ages. At that time, this was a crucial survival tool that allowed us to prepare for and navigate the worst-case scenario in each situation.
However, just because this was programmed into our nervous system thousands of years ago doesn’t mean we are helpless. That is where the power of gratitude comes in!
Whether you choose to verbally recite or jot them down in a notebook, formulating a list of things we are grateful for helps rewire our brain to remain in a positive state. I have an app that gives me a daily prompt of things I am thankful for that day.
If you are new to practicing gratitude, you are in luck, it’s easy, and there are no rules on how to do it. Putting in the effort is what matters.
I recommend my clients start by stating or journaling between 3-10 things they are grateful for within the last 24 hours. This helps us stay grounded in the present and prevents the tasks from becoming repetitive over time.
Maybe you are grateful for the discount you got on groceries, how great the outfit you wore to work looked, and how the sunset looked on this beautiful spring evening. Boom! You’re done! It is that easy.
Still unsure? Here are five benefits of having a consistent gratitude practice.
Gives Us Hope for the Future
If you can find a way to be grateful for the small milestones you accomplish today, think about how you will feel when you truly achieve your dreams?
Reduced Stress
Loads of research have shown that keeping a daily gratitude journal can help lower cortisol levels and, as a result, signal our body to relax.
Improves Sleep
By lowering our stress, we can sleep much more freely. Plus, if you wake up and cannot fall back asleep, rather than check your phone, start reciting things you are grateful for and watch yourself slowly doze back off to sleep.
Boosts Self-Esteem
You will often be writing about things you have accomplished. What better way to remind yourself of your successes than seeing them written down on paper?
Instantly Boosts Your Mood
Focusing on all the positives in your life makes it that much harder for your brain to drift back toward the negatives. Plus, on days that seem especially hard, you can return to previous days and remind yourself of all the things you have been grateful for. The best part about it? It’s written in your own words. It’s not a friend or coworker trying to convince you that your life is fantastic. You already did that heavy-lifting!
Through your journey as an entrepreneur, your emotions will undoubtedly vacillate from high to low depending on your success. This is why I encourage my clients to start a gratitude practice to help them cultivate a positive mindset, allowing them to avoid the severe pendulum swings that seem almost built-in to the entrepreneurial experience.
It can be easy to forget to focus on our lives’ beautiful aspects with an increasingly hostile world around us. That is why I cannot emphasize enough the importance of developing a gratitude practice as part of your daily routine.
Start getting in the habit today! There is no wrong way to add gratitude to your life.
