5 Easy Practices to Cultivate Gratitude & Improve Wellbeing
Cultivating gratitude has been proven improve your mood, mental health, physical heath, and relationships. It also can make you more resilient to stress and difficult experiences. Try these simple ways to magnify feelings of gratitude in your life …
Practice Mindfulness
Remembering to slow down and savor little moments in your life can be a way to cultivate gratitude. Tap into your senses and let your mind linger on pleasant, everyday sensations. This can help ground you in the present, pulling you away from rumination and worrying.
Keep a Gratitude Journal
There are many ways to create a gratitude journal, whether on paper or in a note on your phone. Jot down the small but unexpected joys of the day, such as quick chats with friendly strangers, as well as the pleasant but routine moments, like a relaxing bike ride after work.
Gratitude Mapping
Gratitude mapping is perfect for visual learners. It involves creating a visual mood board of everything you’re grateful for, which you can add to regularly. It could be a cork board or magnets on the fridge filled with photos, concert tickets, or notes - anything that evoked memories of joy.
Express Thanks to Others
Build relationships by writing thank you notes, or sending a quick text to people in your life. Recall treasured memories or even seemingly insignificant interactions and moments of lightheartedness they may have forgotten about. Write about the positive effect they’ve had on your life. Expressing gratitude magnifies it for both people you and them.
Reframe Past Events
Ruminating on painful experiences from our past can be the thief of gratitude and joy. Instead of replaying what happened or stagnating on feelings of disappointment, shame, or heartbreak, consider how they contributed to your growth. Did they make you more cautious, assertive, or empathic? By finding lessons within the tough experiences in life, you can reframe these events and perhaps even find more gratitude and goodwill.
What does a gratitude practice look like to you?