Wherever you are today, there is always someone in a worse position than you. Gratitude is a reminder of what we have as opposed to complaining about what we don't.
Making a list of three good things that happened to you every day before going to sleep is a great way to shift your mindset. Sheryl Sandberg in her commencement speech At Virginia Tech acknowledged that this practice had helped her in carrying on with her life after her husband Dave suddenly passed away long before his 50th birthday.
Did you know that....
If you let your mind wander it will lean towards negativity because the most primitive part of the brain takes over our thoughts. Its function is survival so it must imagine the worst possible scenario, making our perception of reality a negative one.
Solution: Nurture positive brain activity by rising to new challenges.
Mithu Storoni is a neuroscientist who explains this in more detail in a TED talk about how you can make your brain grow happy. The key is to engage your mind in neurological activities that will keep negative thoughts at bay. One way is to explore new territories like learning a new subject. She also talks about the benefits of feeling gratitude for what we have because it makes us focus on the positives of our reality. In this way, we will be storing happy memories that we will revisit during our sleep.
Here’s a list of things you can feel grateful for:
- Health
- Pets
- Children
- Home
- Room
- Kitchen
- Nice weather
- The sense of sight
- Parents
- Life partner
- Any body part you like: skin, eye colour, hair texture
- Reproductive organs
None of the above even have to be perfect, remember that some people don’t have any at all.
Care to share?
What are you grateful for today?
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