11-24-22

1 year ago

Let’s All Give Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving! While you are busy enjoying delicious food, cheering on your favorite sports team, and spending quality time with your loved ones today, don’t forget to take a moment to reflect on everything you have to be grateful for. After all, that’s the reason for the season, right?

But what about once this season is over? When all the holiday celebrations have come to an end and we have moved on to a new year, will you still be making an effort to find ways to express your gratitude on a regular basis? We hope so! Practicing gratitude in your day-to-day life is a powerful way to support your overall health and well-being, and we promise it doesn’t have to be nearly as hard as it sounds.

The Benefits of Gratitude

Taking the time to be grateful each day can be beneficial for your psychological, physical, and even social health!

Your Psychological Health. Gratitude is one of the most powerful methods for supporting your psychological health, especially when it comes to your mood. In fact, research has found that intentionally practicing gratitude can help boost positive emotions like happiness, joy, and optimism while also reducing feelings of anxiety and depression.
Your Physical Health. Research on the connection between gratitude and physical health is ongoing, but so far, studies have found a number of different benefits in this area. Some of the benefits include improved sleep quality, a strengthened immune system, and a reduction in the occurrence of general aches and pains.
Your Social Health. The practice of gratitude is also thought to help us build stronger emotional connections with others. One theory on this topic suggests that practicing gratitude serves to help us find new people to form relationships with, reminds us to appreciate the relationships we have already built, and motivates us to invest in those relationships. Essentially, this means that gratitude plays a big role in our social lives, which is an important aspect of health and well-being.

Ways To Practice Gratitude

With so many benefits, you’re probably wondering how you can incorporate gratitude into your daily routine even after this season of thankfulness is over. If so, here are a few simple ways that we highly recommend.

Start with a Thought. Start small by finding a moment each day to simply think about what you are grateful for. The best way to build this into your routine is to add it to an activity you already do every day, such as while you are making your bed, brushing your teeth, or doing the dishes. Prompt yourself to name at least three things you are grateful for, then as time goes on, you can expand this practice by challenging yourself to increase that number every few days.
Keep a Journal. This is one of the most popular gratitude practices for a reason! You can spend as little as 5 minutes a day writing in your journal and still be able to reap the benefits of gratitude. The most important thing is to avoid using your gratitude journal like a grocery list, where you just jot down a few items and leave it at that. Instead, be intentional about what you write down. Really think about why you are grateful for these things and write a short note about the reason you chose each item on that particular day. Another great benefit of keeping a gratitude journal is it gives you something to reflect on later down the road.
Express it to Others. Strengthen your relationships and encourage an attitude of gratitude by making a habit of expressing your gratitude to others. This can be as simple as making a habit of genuinely thanking people more often throughout the day or as involved as handwriting thank you notes to those you feel gratitude toward. Whatever way you choose to express gratitude to others, keep in mind that the most effective forms of gratitude include more than just a ‘thank you,’ they also include acknowledging what the person did and how much effort it took as well as describing how it benefited you.

We’re Grateful For You!

As we take time today and every day to reflect on what we are grateful for, we are always reminded of how much we value each and every one of you. It is truly a pleasure to interact with wonderful human beings like yourself. So, from the bottom of our hearts, we humbly give thanks for the opportunity to serve you now and for many more years to come.