Giving Thanks to Boost Your Well Being and Motivation
“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates vision for tomorrow. ”
During November when in the US at least, we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, let's turn our attention to just that this month. What if we spent a few moments each day giving thanks? Well, great news for all of us – it turns out that giving thanks boosts our well being and motivates us!
According to a recent study by Harvard Business School, gratitude can provide us with extra well being both inside and outside the workplace. According to a CNBC article featuring this research, "taking the time to be thankful and appreciative for things you have received, tangible or intangible, makes you feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improves your health, helps you deal with adversity and builds strong relationships — all crucial traits both in and out of the workplace." Read the full article here.
Wherever you are, if you begin a gratitude practice each day, it will help propel you. I do a quick exercise before I go to bed each night called "Daily Delights". This practice taps into positive psychology to help boost me right before I go to bed. I've gotten great feedback from family, friends and colleagues that it's turned their moods around, helped out with their kids, brought their family together or been a team building exercise at work. However you choose to fold it into your daily routine, it's proven to build on existing positivity in your life to further propel you.
Try this 2 minute exercise daily to give yourself that gratitude boost:
1) Think of the moments in your day that have delighted you. These could be bigger things such as a project you finished or smaller things such as a stranger smiling at you on the street, or an act of kindness you gave or received. It could even be a yummy meal you enjoyed!
2) Bring that memory to mind and savour it, almost as if you were experiencing it again.
3) What about it specifically are you thankful for? Consider these things, and give thanks.
4) Consider keeping a journal of these daily delights - a journal of gratitude and thanks. This will support you in more challenging days you may experience ahead of you. It can also serve as a reflective tool to support continued positive growth.