What is gratitude?
Gratitude is something we often take for granted in everyday life. It defines the act of appreciating the things in your life. This can be for anything – for someone or something in our life, for good circumstances, even for things as small as appreciating the way the trees look. What we are expressing gratitude for is less important than the feelings of positive emotion that come with it. Acts of gratitude are done selflessly to show appreciation.
The benefits of gratitude
Gratitude can alter our emotional state. By expressing gratitude and concentrating on the positive things in our life, rather than the negative, this can improve mood and make us feel better.
Some other benefits of gratitude include:
- Builds resiliency
- Improves empathy and self esteem
- Improves mental health and sleep
- Demonstrates good manners
- Reduces sense of entitlement
Why teach gratitude to children?
Teaching children gratitude from a young age is to teach them an important life skill and helping them to develop this early. We can help our children to be prepared for adulthood by learning this skill, and help them to think deeper and more appreciatively about things. As a bonus, gratitude can be contagious. Expressing gratitude can inspire others to do the same, leading to a wave of gratitude that can spiral out from the initial source.
Integrating gratitude into your life
Now that we know what gratitude is and why it’s important, how to we make sure we’re expressing gratitude in our day to day lives? Like anything else, it is a habit that can be built. We can utilise reminder tools such as phone alarms and calendars to prompt gratitude. Try to think of three things each day that you feel gratitude for.
0 Comments