A Thanksgiving Project: Why and How to Start Your Own Gratitude Practice
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Does “giving thanks” feel more difficult this year than in past years? We’ve experienced a tremendous amount of collective loss, including derailed Thanksgiving plans. However, the truth is that choosing to focus on gratitude has incredible benefits, and is well worth the intentional effort.
Benefits of Gratitude
In life and in work, gratitude combats feelings of stress, disillusionment, and dissatisfaction. According to a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, it can make you feel more optimistic. It can help you sleep better. And other research even shows that it can improve your self-esteem.
A new study came out recently in Psychotherapy Research that found that compared with participants who wrote about negative experiences or received counseling alone, those who also wrote gratitude letters in addition to counseling reported significantly better mental health four weeks and twelve weeks after their writing exercise ended.
According to the study, “this suggests that gratitude writing can be beneficial not just for healthy, well-adjusted individuals but also for those who struggle with mental health concerns. In fact, it seems practicing gratitude on top of receiving psychological counseling carries greater benefits than just counseling alone. Even when that gratitude practice is brief.”
The research shows adding some sort of gratitude practice into your routine, into your habits has nothing but benefits for you.
I’ve even seen this in my own life as I learned that gratitude has helped me personally combat feelings of “missing out” or just living in the future. Gratitude helps me focus on what I am experiencing right here and right now that is worth being thankful for.
The Impact of Gratitude at Work
Gratitude not only has benefits for your own psychological well being, but gratitude also has a huge impact on the workplace.
A study by Glass Door revealed that 80 percent of employees would be willing to work harder for a boss that expresses gratitude and appreciation.
70 percent of employees say they would feel better about themselves and their efforts if their boss thanked them more regularly. It’s so simple to do. Just acknowledge that efforts are being seen.
53 percent of employees would stay longer at their company if they felt more appreciation from their boss. Businesses can increase retention by encouraging leadership to practice intentional appreciation.
4 out 5 employees report that they are motivated to work harder when their boss shows appreciation for their work.
It’s important not only to be mindful of the things that you’re grateful for in your own life, but also to express that gratitude to others, whether it’s your family, neighbors, a roommate, or a co-worker. It’s so helpful to express to people that you’re grateful for what they've done and that you see them.
Put It Into Practice
There’s no better time than now to be intentional about practicing gratitude, so here are a few ways to launch your gratitude practice.
1. Get a journal that is meant solely for gratitude. This can be a daily list of things you feel grateful for or it can even be specific to your day. What was great about your day? What were the highlights? I keep a highlights journal to reflect on my day and outline things that I enjoyed about the day. Maybe it was a meal, a conversation, something I read, or a win at work. I keep it simple, no more than two or three lines. It’s a great practice to do this before bed each evening. Just jot down maybe three things that you’re thankful for so that even as you go to sleep, you’ll be thinking about the things that are positive. You’ll literally be counting your blessings.
2. Start the day with a prayer of thanksgiving. For me, prayer is a great way to start the day just thinking on things above, thinking on things that I’m grateful for. It’s a great way to finish the day. So including prayer in your day whether it’s, in the beginning of your day, before meals, or at the end of the day, is a great habit to implement to get your mind off of yourself.
3. Throughout the day look for things to be grateful for. Look for those sights, smells, and sounds that you can include in your gratitude journal at the end of that day. Even just having that attitude of being on the lookout for things to be grateful for will really transform your entire day because you’re looking for the positive, the blessings, the things to be grateful for.
4. Write a note to someone who’s helped you in your life. This is certainly one of my goals for 2021. I want to regularly get back to snail mail and write notes to people. Not only on their birthday, not only on a holiday, but just to let them know that I’m grateful for them, for the impact they’ve had on my life. It can also just be a text message, a Facebook message, or an Instagram DM. Just take a moment to tell someone, “Hey, I appreciate you. You’ve made a difference in my life.” Maybe it is someone that you work with or maybe it’s someone who’s been a mentor to you in the past, or maybe it’s a family member. You’ll never regret having reached out to someone and said “I appreciate your kindness. I appreciate who you’ve been in my life. I appreciate how you’ve inspired me.”
5. Every couple of months, strategically choose a close friend or a family member in your life to express gratitude to. Try to do this on an unsuspecting month, not necessarily their birthday month. Devise something special you can do for them to show appreciation.
The research shows it only takes eight weeks of a gratitude practice for people to start showing changed brain patterns that lead to greater empathy and happiness. There’s really no reason not to be intentional about increasing gratitude in your life. Whether it’s through journaling, prayer, or stopping by your co-worker’s office to say thanks.
Satisfaction and fulfillment are not in the things that we’re looking forward to. They’re not in the things of tomorrow. They’re not in the nostalgia of the past. Satisfaction and fulfillment are in today. They’re in being grateful for where you are today, being grateful for the breath in your lungs today, the people in your life today, the health that you have today.
And the best way to renew your mind is to stop, look around, and express that gratitude for what is in your life right now. It’s incredibly powerful to express thanks for what’s here right now. Let’s not miss it.
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