Go Gratitude !!!

God gave us 86,400 seconds today. Have we used one to say Thank You?

Gratitude is being thankful, counting our blessings, appreciating ourselves and others, enjoying simple pleasures of life and acknowledging all that we have.

Gratitude helps us in shifting our thoughts from what we lack to start accepting and appreciating the abundance of things we have. In fact, behavioural and psychological research has shown that surprising life improvements can stem from the practice of gratitude. Giving thanks makes people happier, more resilient, strengthens relationships, improves health, and reduces stress.

It is never too late to pause and recollect all the achievements we’ve had, all the people who touched our lives, helped us in some way or the other, our environment, our workplace, all the good things we have in our life. Let us express our gratitude towards all these open ourselves to experience the miracles of life.

Research proves that expressing gratitude everyday helps us in developing high level of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism, energy, and we tend to be more creative, bounce back more quickly from adversity, have a stronger immune system, and have stronger social relationships. Gratitude also helps in reducing stress and depression. It is also proven that when we practice gratitude we are more likely to help others, exercise more regularly, and make greater progress toward achieving personal goals.

Acknowledge and appreciate every day’s gifts
We always tend to take things for granted. To understand the value of things we have in life, let us do this exercise. Imagine losing some of the things that we take for granted, such as our home, our ability to see or hear, our ability to walk, or anything that currently gives us comfort. Then imagine getting each of these things back, one by one, and consider how grateful we would be for each and every one.

Nurturing Gratitude not only helps us at an individual level but helps organizations grow. Given below are some tips that will help us increase gratitude levels at our personal as well as professional spaces.

Tips for practicing Gratitude

• Maintain a gratitude journal. Take a couple of minutes at the end of each day to reflect on the day. Identify three things that happened during the day for which you are grateful (e.g. a co-worker’s extra effort, a manager’s feedback, and a customer’s honesty). Jot these three good things in the journal. It is also effective to review why each circumstance was good. This daily exercise of counting our blessings will increase and sustain happiness. 
• Once in a week practice a ‘No Complaints’ day. On this day make it a point not complain about things in your life like, traffic jams, dealing with a difficult boss, workplace facilities, government etc. When we stop criticizing or complaining we start appreciating things around us. 
• Make ‘Thank you’ notes for your family members, co workers, subordinates, boss and place them at places they can find it. Notice the smile and happiness gratitude brings in their life with this small gesture. This will create a deeper bonding between you and them. 
• Make it a point to thank every person who helps you in some way or the other. It could be your driver who drives you to office and back home safely, your maid who helps you with all the housework, your security guards who keep your offices/homes safe and so on. 
• Think of all the things you have like a beautiful home, wonderful car, satisfying job, great workplace, and thank them for being in your life. 
• Develop an ‘Attitude of Gratitude’. 

Gratitude should not be just a reaction to get what we want, but an all-the-time gratitude, the kind where we notice the little things and where we constantly look for the good even in unpleasant situations. From today, start bringing gratitude to your experiences, instead of waiting for a positive experience to happen in order to feel grateful.