Hello! Seiiti Arata. What is gratitude? The general idea of gratitude is one of the key concepts behind different types of therapies. If you know some cognitive, philosophical, religious or even neuro-linguistic approaches, you will probably identify this concept. They don’t always use the nomenclature “gratitude,” but many of their practices are related to gratitude.
1. Happiness tends to stagnate at an equilibrium point
The person who wins the lottery can be very happy at first. Over the years, he or she returns to the average level of happiness she had before winning the lottery. This also happens to those who suffer a serious accident. At first, this person may experience great misery. But after a few years, it also returns to the level of previous happiness.
In short, this is the effect of the hedonic adaptation, or hedonic treadmill. It is a concept that explains the previous example. The idea is that we have a strong tendency to maintain an average level of happiness. If any big event happens, we feel the initial excitement. Then we return to our level of happiness we had before.
There is even a genetic explanation for our happiness. Some people have a different genetic inclination to produce hormones linked to different levels of happiness. That is why some people tend to be happier than others. Despite the genetic factor, there is also a behavioral factor. And it is there that we will concentrate. The practice of gratitude will be fundamental to this.
2. What is gratitude?
Gratitude is the conscious acknowledgment of the unexpected implements of value in our experience. It is when we say thank you, recognizing the positive things that happen unexpectedly in our life.
You can think of gratitude in many ways. You can see gratitude as a positive feeling, for example. When someone does something for us and we appreciate it. We feel grateful for that person. And you can also see the gratitude of a broader aspect. It can also be the happiness we feel for having everything we have.
Notice that the word gratitude comes from Latin. Gratia, is the root of the word grace, which is a gift.
And the gift is not only when it comes to you: when you accept, acknowledge, value, and externalize your joy, you are demonstrating your gratitude. Gratitude is giving and it also understanding how to receive.
Gratitude can be manifested by the moment you choose to be grateful. One of the most interesting things about gratitude are the benefits in our lives.
3. Benefits of Gratitude
There are some scientific studies that have sought to measure the impacts of gratitude on a daily basis. In one of these studies, participants spent a whole week writing a diary. But in this diary, they could only write the positive things that happened to them. By the end of this week, performing this act of gratitude, their level of happiness increased. And the effect of this increase of happiness even continued for the next six months.
In another scientific study, cardiac risk patients began to keep a diary of gratitude. Over time, as they cultivated this habit, they realized that their heart health had improved. It was also found that stress levels decreased and that sleep quality increased.
There are several other positive effects of gratitude. To keep this video fast and objective, let’s go for some practical tips. Take your notebook and we’ll do it together. You’ll already start implementing these tips to reap its benefits.
4. Practice gratitude
On a blank sheet, write things for which you have gratitude. They can be things in the workplace, in relationships, in your personal life … Perform this activity every night, giving only five minutes to it. Start now and repeat for the next seven days. On the seventh day, read everything you wrote.
Within the gratitude listing, you have created; you will notice that there are different types of gratitude. The second exercise is thinking about how you can express this gratitude by talking to others. Get in touch with them and show their gratitude. You can use your phone, social media, or even a paper letter and mail it. But if it is possible, what I strongly recommend is that you meet in person.Finally, after you do all this, go back to your notebook and write about how it was for you.
Practice your gratitude every night before bed. In this way, you direct your focus to review your day and identify what has been good. By performing your thanks, you put your brain into a search mode. You begin to see lessons and good examples aligned with what you want to be. This kind of inspiration helps us achieve more results. It feeds a positive spiral, in which you will have more gratitude, better choices and better results.
Here at Arata Academy, we have this simple and fast video. Just to talk about it and talk a little bit with you. There is much more to know together. But if you just carry out the activities that were presented here, this will help you a lot.
If you would like to delve deeper into this subject, we have a new course, Personal Development, which will put into practice everything you need about gratitude and abundance. You can know by visiting this link: https://arata.se/personaldevelopment