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How Practicing Gratitude Can Change Your Life

November 4, 2020

Hello cold weather, football games, turkey trots, and grandma's homemade stuffing. It’s the start of the holiday season and you can almost feel hope in the air. 

2020 has run us all through the ringer. From natural disasters and a global pandemic to rising tensions and a general feeling of uncertainty, this year has been nothing short of a rollercoaster. So how do we prepare for the season of thanks when so much seems to have gone wrong? 

Our proposal, lean into it whenever possible. This season is all about giving thanks and giving back. When everything goes wrong, we can focus on the little things that are still good. 

Practicing gratitude is not only simple, it’s proven to be life changing.

What Is Gratitude? 

Gratitude, as stated by the leading scientific expert Robert Emmons, is an affirmation of goodness. The word itself comes from the latin word “Gratia” which translates to grace or graciousness. Practicing gratitude allows us to recognize the goodness outside of ourselves and appreciate the people or things that brought it into our lives. Not only does it increase our own happiness, but it encourages us to give the same experience to others. 


Now you may be thinking, “well of course I am grateful for this and that, but why does it matter?”

The Benefits of Practicing Gratitude

  • Increases happiness, joy, optimism, and other positive emotions
  • Reduces anxiety and depression
  • Strengthens the immune system and encourages healthy behaviors
  • Better sleep
  • Strengthens relationships with others 


Practicing gratitude is more than being aware of the positive things in your life, it is the practice of actively seeking out the good in every day. Rather than focusing on the big picture; like being grateful for your health and family, it’s being grateful for the little things. Things like the cute fuzzy socks on your feet or a smile from a stranger. 


Finding little things in our everyday lives not only allows us to feel small doses of joy, it encourages us to recognize the good in everything every day. 

How to Practice Gratitude

The thing about practicing gratitude is it’s simple. It doesn’t have to be a huge add on to your routine, rather an intentional moment or moments throughout the day. There are so many different ways to practice gratitude; if one idea doesn’t seem like your jam, you have options. 


Keep a Gratitude Journal - or Post-It Notes or iNotes, whatever works for you. Take 5 minutes every morning or night to list 3-5 things you are grateful for. Think small. Comb through your day and pick out the little moments that brought you joy. As you continue to practice this, you will find that narrowing your list down to just 5 little things you’re grateful for is hard. The more we look for the good, the more we will find it.


Gratitude Letters - Write a letter to someone you are grateful for in your life. This can be a family member, a friend, a mentor, etc. Take 10 minutes to physically write a letter expressing why you are grateful for that person, how they have helped you specifically, where you are now and why you’re thinking of them. Boost the experience of this exercise by delivering the letter in-person so you can spread the joy. 


Gratitude Walk/Meditation - Add 10-20 minutes to your morning routine to go on a walk or do a mediation practice centered in gratitude. If you’re going for a walk, you can think about or say aloud the things you’re grateful for or recognize the things you see on your walk that you can be grateful for (i.e. sun rays or birds chirping). If you’re doing a meditation practice, hone in on a person, thing, and/or moment that you have immense gratitude for. There are lots of guided walks/meditations that you can find online!


Our Challenge to You

We hope you have learned a little more about the benefits of practicing gratitude and have an idea of how you can start to implement a practice into your daily routine.


Practicing gratitude is so beneficial to our wellbeing that we want to challenge you to join us in a 5-Day Gratitude Practice. During these 5 days, we challenge you to participate in keeping a gratitude journal. Each day, you will spend 5 minutes meditating on and writing down 3 things you are grateful for that day. 


Follow along with us on our Instagram @FIMCMidAtlantic for daily prompts, our own gratitude list, and fun extras. (Starting Nov. 9th)

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