January 13, 2020- Healthy in the Hollow
MONDAY- GRACE
This past Thanksgiving, I woke up and laid in bed in silence scanning my body from head to toe in mediation while giving thanks internally for all my many blessings. I try to start most days this way, and because it was the national holiday of gratitude, I began thinking of ways I could share my exercises of gratitude with all of you.
I went down a little mental rabbit hole and came up with a way to share my favorite practices for overall healthy living all wrapped up in a fun a little acronym, G-R-A-C-E, which is absolutely perfect because we can always use a little bit more of it. We need to give ourselves more of it, we need to be better at receiving it, and we need to give others more of it.
So, today, we start with what I feel is the most important pillar of health, GRATITUDE.
Research shows that gratitude can:
- Help you make friends. One study found that thanking a new acquaintance makes them more likely to seek a more lasting relationship with you.
- Improve your physical health. People who exhibit gratitude report fewer aches and pains, a general feeling of health, more regular exercise, and more frequent checkups with their doctor than those who don’t.
- Improve your psychological health. Grateful people enjoy higher well-being and happiness and suffer from reduced symptoms of depression
- Enhance empathy and reduces aggression. Those who show their gratitude are less likely to seek revenge against others and more likely to behave in a prosocial manner, with sensitivity and empathy.
- Improve your sleep. Practicing gratitude regularly can help you sleep longer and better.
- Enhance your self-esteem. People who are grateful have increased self-esteem, partly due to their ability to appreciate other peoples’ accomplishments.
- Increase in mental strength. Grateful people have an advantage in overcoming trauma and enhanced resilience, helping them to bounce back from highly stressful situations.
(Retrieved from: https://positivepsychology.com/gratitude-exercises/)
As you can see, actively practicing gratitude can improve your overall well-being in many ways, including the other four pillars we will discuss this week: rest, awareness, clean eating, and exercise. When you approach even the most mundane tasks or unbearable situations with an attitude of gratitude, your life is sure to be exponentially easier to navigate.
This article in from Positive Psychology is packed full of gratitude and activities. I haven’t even gotten through them all yet!
Today’s assignment is to read through this article and choose at least one way you can implement an ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE into your daily life.
Comment below and tell us how you plan to consistently give thanks!
https://positivepsychology.com/gratitude-exercises/
Other resources: m: https://www.forbes.com/sites/amymorin/2014/11/23/7-scientifically-proven-benefits-of-gratitude-that-will-motivate-you-to-give-thanks-year-round/#5173c7f5183c
Dancing Dem TN 