More than creating a gratitude list, actively practicing gratitude has always been essential to recovery success. No matter what your religious or spiritual beliefs, taking some time each day to say thank you to your Higher Power is a great way to cultivate more things to be grateful for in your life. Being thankful brings more to be thankful for into your life. This multiplies and before you know it your life is beyond your wildest dreams. Get a jar of any kind and when something good happens write it on a strip of paper and put it in the jar. Then each day (once you get some stockpiled) take one out and remember what you have to be happy about.
Happiness and Satisfaction
- Gratitude is part of our biology, and its likely predecessor, reciprocity, is still seen throughout nature.
- Emmons has authored several papers on the psychology of gratitude, showing that being more grateful can lead to increased levels of wellbeing (Emmons & Crumpler, 2000).
- We have a dedicated article offering gratitude meditation guidance for you to peruse.
- However, maintaining a sense of gratitude can help you stay focused on what is important and find strength in difficult times.
- Likewise, when we’re deep in negativity, our mental health suffers.
This can mean listing just five things for which you’re grateful every week. This practice works, I think, because it consciously, intentionally focuses our attention on developing more grateful thinking and on eliminating ungrateful thoughts. It helps guard against taking things for granted; instead, we see gifts in life as new and exciting. I do believe that people who live a life of pervasive thankfulness really do experience life differently than people who cheat themselves out of life by not feeling grateful. Most of us are impatient with the pandemic, and 2021 has arrived and the pandemic is still here.
Why Gratitude Matters and How It Can Transform Recovery
You become less reactive and are better able to handle life’s challenges with grace. Sitting in silence for long periods of time isn’t my cup of tea. However, once I started combining meditation with gratitude, the game changed. Let’s look at 4 simple ways that you can develop an attitude of gratitude. Grateful people give thanks for everything in their life, even on the days when it feels like nothing is going right. An attitude of gratitude means that you operate from a place of abundance instead of a place of scarcity and fear.
Gratitude journal template
For wellbeing, happiness, performance and patience, cultivate gratitude. There are plenty of ways to be generous each and every day, but recognizing the opportunities that come your way takes effort and attention. For example, if someone from your AA group needs a place to stay for a week, opening up your home is a great way to be generous. why is gratitude important in recovery Or if you see someone struggling to carry groceries to their car, the simple act of offering a helping hand can go a long way. Throughout each day, be mindful of your interactions and observations of others. Be mindful of sharing your gratitude for others as they cross your path or as you observe good deeds on behalf of strangers.
- If you’re looking for a way out of those ruminating thoughts, you can practice gratitude by volunteering to help others who are directly affected by the issues you care about the most.
- When we are optimistic we see good outcomes in even the most trying situations.
- Robert Emmons has led positive psychology’s expansion of research on the importance of gratitude.
An attitude of gratitude forces you to get outside of your problems and look at the bigger picture. In turn, you are better able to bounce forward when challenges occur in life. It’s important to understand that the relationship you have with yourself will often https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/10-major-physical-signs-of-alcoholism-to-watch-out-for/ be reflected in your relationships with others. Many in recovery, particularly early recovery, feel guilty for past mistakes and beat themselves up. While acknowledging mistakes and making amends is vital for long-term recovery learning to love yourself is too.
Reach your personal and professional goals
- Simply taking a moment to count our blessings can lift our spirits and remind us of all that we have to appreciate in life.
- A study by Wood et al. (2010) suggests that gratitude visits are a practice that is even more beneficial than a gratitude letter and practitioners of this strategy reported more happiness.
- When you think about this person or thing, begin to notice how you feel in your body.