What is thankful? We often hear people say they are grateful, thankful, or even blessed. Everyone has a different idea of what they’re grateful for in life, but what you may not know is that there’s actually a connection between gratitude and your health. Being thankful, whether to a specific person or just for, say, waking up in the morning, contributes to wellbeing.
Research has linked gratitude with an increase in self-esteem, resiliency and overall life satisfaction. It can also help you build new friendships and strengthen the relationships you already have. According to research published in the journal Cerebral Cortex, gratitude stimulates the hypothalamus (a key part of the brain that regulates stress) and the ventral tegmental area (part of our “reward circuitry” that produces the sensation of pleasure). It’s science, but also common sense: choosing to focus on good things makes you feel better than focusing on bad things.
Gratitude is a way for people to appreciate what they have instead of always reaching for something new in the hopes it will make them happier, or thinking they can’t feel satisfied until every physical and material need is met. Gratitude helps people refocus on what they have instead of what they lack.
Though Thanksgiving is a great time to express gratitude, it’s important to make it a habit. I call it the “glass half full” philosophy and it truly goes hand in hand with positivity. The more often you are able to express your gratitude and thankfulness, the more positive you are. Positive people tend to be happier in general. This positivity and gratefulness and their tie to wellbeing is like icing on the cake! So give it a try, just like the pounds after Thanksgiving dinner, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain! #gobblegobble