Gratitude is a staple for us here at Major League University. We talk about it a lot with the teams and athletes we work with. We believe that a strong foundation of gratitude can propel people to becoming the best versions of themselves. This is why we made the Blueprint for Success in the first place! It is important that everyone has the same understanding of gratitude that we do, so that things are not lost in translation. Below I talk about the benefits of gratitude as well as some ways to boost gratitude in your daily life.
What can it do for me?
First of all, “gratitude” is defined as the feeling of appreciation or thanks. Experiencing this feeling can lead to many other positive things as well. True gratitude can bring us more happiness and reduce depression. Gratitude gives us a new plate of armor by making us more resilient. When we are grateful, we tend to have lower blood pressure, increased energy, and live longer lives. We are PHYSICALLY HEALTHIER when we are grateful.
Gratitude in itself acts similar to an antidepressant. It tells our brain that it is time to fire up the dopamine and serotonin (happy stimulants) just as an antidepressant would do. Life is not about what happens to us, but how we interpret what happens to us. The more gratitude we show, the better our brain is at experiencing and retaining positive thoughts and events. Below are the top five ways you can take action today to improve your gratitude.
Top Five Ways to Improve the Gratitude Muscle
- Celebrate small accomplishments. This is the ultimate glass-half-full mentality. The more victories we celebrate, the more gratitude we are going to feel. Win, and win often. You hit a green light, get pumped about it. You get a good spot at the grocery store, get amped! Little things add up to big feelings.
- Share the love. Tell other people in your life things that you appreciate about them. How many times to we think about how awesome someone is in our lives compared to how many times we tell them how amazing they are. Everyone likes to be pumped up. It feels good to do the pumping up, though, as well. That goes for you too! Be sure to show appreciation for yourself.
- Go out of your way. Time is the most valuable asset in the world. Once it is spent, we never get it back. Use your time for others by volunteering, helping, or just being kind to others. Give back to your communities! Help others as much as you can. This world can be a cold and lonely place at times. Let’s be the light and the warmth for others.
- Meditate. I have been on a meditation kick for a while now. I notice a change when I have skipped my meditation and mindfulness practice. We must practice slowing down and finding our breath to get good at it. When we get good at it, we are able to almost just go off to a quiet place in our heads at any time.
- Journal daily. That’s right! The number one way to grow your gratitude muscle is to write it down in a daily gratitude journal. This gives us a consistent practice and allows for us to focus on gratitude first thing each day. We must use our minds to put ourselves in the things we write about. When we can take in and really feel the experiences we are writing about, we can start to become true zen warriors!
