Giving Thanks and Gratitude Practices

I've been doing various gratitude practices for a number of years now and from personal experience combined with the research on high-performance psychology, I know the massive impact that it can have on states of optimism and quality of life.

Gratitude and giving thanks may be something that we tend to reserve for certain times of the year but it doesn't have to be that way.

So while you may be gathering with close family this upcoming weekend either in person or from afar virtually, here are a few ways I have found that you can give thanks and feel it deeply while also maybe making it more of a regular practice for yourself.

Feel It, Don't Just Say It

One of the things that I often don't do well enough is taking the time to embody the feelings of gratitude. There's a big difference in the experience when we take a moment and actually think and feel the thanks we are giving instead of just saying it and continuing along on our train of thought or going about our day.

Remembrance Day is a good example of this when we pause for a minute to remember.

When you work on feeling the gratitude even for a minute, it will have a greater impact on you.

So take that pause, close your eyes if you need to, and visualize the things that you are thankful for. When we operate more from a place of gratitude, we see the world through a more positive light and live in a state of resonance with our hearts.

Past, Present, Future

There are many things that we can focus on with gratitude but one of the best ways to train yourself to think more optimistically and not get stuck with your gratitude practice losing its effectiveness is by doing a three-part gratitude practice.

This takes into account having one minute to reflect on something in the past, something in the present moment you are grateful for, and then something down the road for you that you are looking forward to.

Usually, each of us favours one form of gratitude so this practice helps us to keep more balanced and all it takes is three minutes a day.

If you have a hard time sticking to it, stack it with other habits you already have ingrained, like doing it immediately after brushing your teeth in the morning.

Write It Down

Maybe you'll be giving a toast this weekend to your family members and this is another great way to have your gratitude become more salient and have a greater impact.

The other thing that you can consider doing more to continue this practice over the longer-term is to start to write down your gratitude list each day. By writing the things you are grateful for down you help your brain integrate both left and right hemispheres in the practice instead of just thinking about it. When you do this you'll feel it deeper and when you're looking forward to future things, it will also prime your subconscious to look for opportunities to make it happen.

The other advantage is that by writing it down, you’ll have this amazing bank of good memories to turn back to when you’re feeling stuck or lost in your ways.

It sounds a little woo-woo but the neuroscience behind writing down your gratitude lists is solid so hopefully, you'll give it a shot because we all need more positivity right now and to keep our heads up as we continue to move forward into uncertain territory.

So whether you’ll get to gather with loved ones from near or afar this Thanksgiving weekend, remember to feel that love and gratitude more deeply than just saying it. Because it actually makes a difference and we all need a little more of that in our lives right now.

Cheers.

RJ Kayser