Did you know? Gratitude is one of the most powerful emotions you can experience. When you practice gratitude, express gratefulness or do something good, your body releases a hormone called oxytocin. This is also known as “the love hormone”… It helps reduce stress, makes you happy and boosts your mood! In fact, there’s an entire meditation technique that revolves around gratitude called loving kindness meditation!
Gratitude helps you cope when you’re feeling low or anxious, it helps you see a more positive side of things and practicing gratitude everyday can help you live a happier and more fulfilling life! This is instrumental in beating anxious thoughts and overcoming stress!
Here’s 4 simple ways you can practice gratitude to reduce stress:
Wish someone kindness. This is a simple way to practice gratitude and includes sending gratitude to a complete stranger who you see. Stand by a window (stay home) and wish a stranger passing by something positive in their life. It can be as simple as ‘have a good day’. Doing something like this will help you feel happy and reduce stress!
Send a message. We told you, it’s really simple! Start off by sending a thank you message, a compliment or a positive thought to family members, friends or colleagues. It can be anyone you are grateful for in your life. This will make you and them feel good. In case you’re struggling to come up with a positive message, a simple ‘thank you for being there’ is good enough! This will bring positivity to your day, release tension and reduce stress!
Gratitude journal. Another easy way to practice gratitude and reflect on your week is gratitude journaling. Take 2-5 minutes every week and write down things that made you happy and you’re grateful for during the week. As you write them down, acknowledge them and observe the happiness you feel as you reminisce the memory! If you want to make this an everyday habit, you can even practice this every night before bed. In case you don’t want to maintain a journal, voice recording your thoughts is also a great way to maintain a gratitude journal. This helps you process your day, acknowledge your thoughts and reduce stress.
Covid gratitude. It’s difficult to find things to be grateful for during these testing times. However, safety during coronavirus lockdown is not a small matter. Be glad and express gratitude for the fact that you’re healthy and safe during lockdown. Moreover, be grateful for the front line workers such as doctors, nurses, carers, delivery persons and security guards of your building!
This is how you can add some positivity to your day and practice gratitude in 4 simple ways. Remember, practicing gratitude can help reduce stress and tension, manage anxious thoughts and boost your mood. By incorporating these habits into your daily life, you give yourself a chance to live everyday with happiness and positivity, while staying balanced.
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