Gratitude
Receiving praise makes us feel good. It’s nice to receive recognition for a job well done, and to feel appreciated. But did you know that expressing gratitude to another person can also improve your mood and wellbeing? When we express our gratitude for something, we get a boost of dopamine and serotonin, giving us those positive feelings of pleasure and happiness and improving our mood. Think about how you feel when you give someone a gift – sometimes you experience more positive emotions seeing their response than when you receive a gift yourself.
Being grateful shifts our focus from the negative to the positive. Negative thoughts focus on what is lacking, whereas positive thoughts focus on what is present and good.
When you are nice to others, your emotional mood becomes more positive, which tends to make your more optimistic and less anxious. Some research also suggests that gratitude lessens stress, anxiety and depression.
But one of the keys to gratitude is to also focus on yourself. It helps you to appreciate what you have, instead of focusing on what you don’t have. Always striving to have something new in the hope it will bring happiness robs you of the ability to be grateful for what you already have now.
What can you do? Think about how you can incorporate gratitude into your day. Expressing gratitude is a choice. Make the time to show gratitude to those around you, but also create the time and space to express gratitude to yourself.
Make someone feel special – thank them and tell them how much you appreciate them.
Write a thank-you note to a mentor or someone who has helped you out.
Try to be less transactional – really thank the barista for your morning coffee, don’t just pay for your coffee and leave.
Self-appreciation – don’t forget to take time to give gratitude to the most important person in the world – you!
Keep a gratitude journal and write down one thing you are grateful for each day, or one thing that went well that you are proud of.
And just remember – you are amazing!