Gratitude is an extremely potent human feeling. We can experience the joy we seek elsewhere by saying and receiving simple "thank you" notes. Gratitude, which is derived from the Latin word "gratia," is another word for appreciation or gratitude. The term "state of gratitude" or "state of being grateful" best describes gratitude in its most basic form.
According to positive psychology, showing appreciation is how people acknowledge the positive aspects of their lives. Psychologists define gratitude as a feeling of joy that we experience after giving or getting something from another person.
How does gratitude help you overcome fear?
Do you feel nervous all the time? This is how gratitude helps you overcome fear and nervousness:
1. Gratitude dispels negative feelings
The limbic system is the name for the region of the brain that governs all emotional experiences. This structure is made up of the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, and cingulate gyrus. The two major brain regions in charge of emotion, memory, and bodily function, the hippocampus and amygdala, have been shown to become active when we experience gratitude.
However, when you relive negative experiences in your mind, you are constantly in a state of anxiety and despair.
2. Positivity reduces suffering
A study on the impact of thankfulness on physical health states 16% of patients who kept gratitude diaries reported fewer pain symptoms and was more eager to exercise and engage with the therapeutic process. A further look into the issue showed that thankfulness gives us positive energy and lowers our perception of pain by managing the amount of dopamine in our bodies.
3. Gratitude enhances the quality of sleep
Many studies have demonstrated that the hypothalamus is activated and controls all body functions, including sleep when people receive and demonstrate small acts of kindness.
Gratitude induces hypothalamic regulation, which naturally promotes deeper, healthier sleep every night. A grateful and compassionate brain is more likely to sleep better and awaken each morning feeling renewed and energized.
4. Gratitude helps to manage stress
Many pieces of research on appreciation and gratitude discovered that people who felt grateful had significantly lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol. They were more robust to emotional setbacks and bad experiences, and their heart function was better.
Throughout the years, research has shown that cultivating thankfulness makes us more resilient to stress than other people. We may reprogram the brain to respond to the current conditions, like the COVID-19 crisis, with more awareness and broader perception by simply noting and appreciating the simple things in life.
5. Being thankful lessens anxiety and melancholy
Gratitude lessens the signs of despair and anxiety by lowering the stress hormones and controlling the autonomic nervous system functioning. An increase in the neuronal modulation of the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain in charge of controlling negative emotions like guilt, shame, and violence, is correlated at the neurochemical level with sentiments of appreciation. As a result, those who express their thanks aloud or in writing are more naturally sympathetic and optimistic.
Practicing gratitude in your daily life
Incorporate these things in your life to actively practice gratitude:
1. Make a list of things you are grateful for
Spend a few minutes listing three to five things you are grateful for each morning. This takes just a second, but it helps you develop the habit of being grateful and sets a good mood for the day. We frequently fail to notice the people and things we value while we are preoccupied with daily tasks. A daily reminder might put us in a grateful mentality and provide us with a much-needed mood boost.
2. Express your gratitude
Find ways to express your gratitude in a unique way to the people you work with. It can make a great difference in how you express your thanks or who does it. For instance, although some people prefer a personal thank you, others cherish appreciation in front of a group. This extra effort shows that you don't just automatically express gratitude. Others can tell that you are concerned about their issues, and it changes things.
3. Be receptive to feedback
Make oneself available for criticism. Giving thanks involves listening to what the other person has to say as well. One of the reasons we struggle with thankfulness is that, even when we express our gratitude, we don't always receive the answer we were hoping for. There are several reasons why your expression of thanks is not well received. You might be surprised by the first one: lip service. If you express thankfulness to someone who thinks you aren't being sincere, the gesture won't be well received. It seems quite hollow if I, as a leader, commend an employee for a job well done but disregard his criticism regarding persistent problems.
4. Walk of gratitude
This is a very helpful technique when you're stressed out or depressed. Set aside 20 minutes (or more if you can) and go for a stroll in the park, around your office, or in your neighborhood.
Think about all the things you have to be thankful for as you walk, including your body, your mind, your relationships with others, your ability to experience the world, and your spiritual essence. Take a deep breath, pause, and give thanks for the air filling your lungs and enabling you to live.
5. A gratitude guide/friend
Choose a partner for your daily practice of appreciation; it could be your spouse, your child, or a coworker. Establish a daily time when you and a friend (or friends) can video chat and share what you are grateful for. Interrogate one another and be frank with one another. An excellent method to maintain motivation is to develop your emotional abilities to express gratitude to someone.
One of the most efficient methods to connect with your spirit is to feel appreciated. You can listen in on the thoughts of the cosmos when you are in touch with your soul. You have a sense of unity with all of creation. You accept the wisdom of ambiguity and see yourself as an endless field of potential.
Conclusion
Through gratitude, you can go from being constrained and afraid to be open and loving. Your ego recedes when you are appreciative of something. You cannot focus on your ego and be grateful at the same time.
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