Gratitude is one small word that is far from simple. The word is very loaded, but unlike a bomb that creates disaster, gratitude opens up many doors leading to infinite positivity and abundance. Saying that it is powerful is an understatement.
More and more people need to understand what the true power of gratitude is. More than an emotion, it is an ideal disposition to have in life because gratitude is ultimately the key to a more positive, abundant, and joyful life in general. There are very few people who don’t want and need more of this!
What is so special about gratitude? According to several scientific pieces of research, these are some of the most notable psychological health benefits of gratefulness.
Creates Deeper Connection and Better Relationships With People
At its very essence, gratitude is a social emotion, according to Robert Emmons, Ph.D., the world’s leading researcher on Gratitude. Gratitude won’t really work if it’s all directed towards ourselves. The nature of gratitude is to inspire us to look beyond ourselves. Gratitude enables us to appreciate the good that surrounds us through the people who’ve helped, inspired, and encouraged us in our lives.
So it makes sense that what the emotion of gratitude creates, ultimately, is a deeper connection with other human beings. Gratitude allows us to build better relationships with people, which inspires us and our lives in powerful ways. Gratitude encourages empathy and compassion.
Evokes Very Positive and Healthy Emotions
Gratitude awakens a deep quality of positivity anchored on healthy emotions. One of the greatest benefits of cultivating an attitude of gratitude is that it effortlessly switches on a sense of positivity in us. Grateful people are happy people.
They are also more trusting, more contented in their lives, experience a deeper sense of joy and appreciation in both the small and big things, and they are more easy-going. Automatically, their agreeableness makes them more attractive to others. Grateful people are also regarded as friendlier and naturally more self-confident.
Greater Overall Well-Being
Gratitude has proven far-reaching benefits to the psyche as well as to one’s physical wellbeing. Grateful people reportedly get better quality of sleep, due to the lack of anxiety and depressive symptoms, which cause many people to suffer insomnia and have chronic sleep problems.
Grateful people also make an effort to take better care of themselves. They tend to exercise more regularly, eat better, and are able to manage their stress in a healthier way. As a result, they are physically healthier and effectively manage any symptoms of pain (if at all present).
A Deeper Awareness Of The Present Moment
One of the most powerful benefits of gratitude is that it causes people to naturally be in tune with their environment and become more aware of the present moment. Mindfulness can be really powerful.
Mindfulness itself has far-reaching health benefits of its own as a natural healing method. Gratitude causes people to be more mindful of the present moment, focus deeper, solve problems better, and maintain a generally positive outlook on life.
Improved Self-Compassion
One of the most highlighted positive benefits of cultivating a habit of gratitude is an improved sense of self-compassion. People with high self-compassion are generally more secure in themselves, self-confident, and are able to cultivate deep, healthy relationships with other people based on a high level of trust. They understand what it means to be human and all the complex emotions we feel.
A healthy self-compassion practice is also a solid foundation for greater achievement through deeper understanding of themselves. So one finds that by cultivating gratitude, they are more likely to better understand what it means to be human which ultimately may lead to deeper understandings of themselves. They will then be able to excel in the areas that matter most to them such as better academic or work performance. In all areas of life, high self-compassion is a valuable key asset.
Helps Build Resilience
A most important psychological health benefit of gratitude is that it helps build resilience. Resilience is being able to bounce back easily and quickly from any challenges in life. This is a very important skill because challenges and tribulations are a part of life. If people aren’t resilient, they may more easily suffer from symptoms of post-traumatic stress after a very challenging experience.
A lack of resilience can also contribute to developing anxiety and depression that can later erupt into even more serious psychological problems. Studies have shown that gratitude helps build resilience. To suffer is a natural human condition, but people with a more grateful disposition bounce back more easily.
I’m curious, leave a comment down below of what benefit of gratitude resonates most with you.
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