The Power of Gratitude
If there’s one term that has been thrown around for the past year it’s this one: Gratitude. The concept of gratitude has rapidly spread, in all sorts of podcasts, books and inspirational videos, and there is definitely a very good reason for that.
This is why I am choosing to dedicate an entire blog post on the topic of being thankful, because I have a personal relationship with the term. It has changed my life tremendously, and I am SO grateful for the healing that the practice of gratitude has afforded me. (see what I did there?)
When I first learned about gratitude, I was very young, in a private Christian school, where I was taught a verse about being thankful. It states, “…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 ESV) After being educated on this term, I would confidently shout to the world, “I’m thankful! I’m thankful!”. I felt proud since my parents rewarded me for this behavior. (Of course, they would. I was a thankful child!) If you were like me, you remember how joyful you felt knowing how proud your parents were of you. That’s affirmation you’re doing something good, right?
If I only knew then, what I knew now.
Throughout my life, I would occasionally hear people speak on gratitude. I would only truly express my gratitude on specific times of the year during Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, and maybe, if I got a job promotion or received some good news. These were definitely worthy events to be celebrated! But does gratitude really work if we only practice it occasionally or just simply say it out loud? What does it mean to truly be grateful?
It’s ironic that I didn’t fully understand the power of gratitude until the most difficult and painful season of my life, which happened to be in the midst of the pandemic in 2020. I was reading the book Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis and I came across her process of “Five to Thrive”. If you don’t know what that is, it’s a set of five habits that you practice daily to set your day up for success. This process included the habit of a daily gratitude practice.
Of course, being one of her biggest fans, I jumped right onto this “Five to Thrive” train. I was pretty consistent for the most part, but I wasn’t perfect in this practice. Regardless of the circumstance, there was one item I never missed. You want to guess which one that was? Daily Gratitude. I woke up every morning and instantly wrote in my journal 5 things that I was grateful for in the past 24 hours. I wrote down specific things, not just generic things like my health, family or my dog. (well I did write down “my dog” every morning, but you get the point) I was thankful for that amazing cup of coffee, that phone conversation I had with my grandma, and that Jimmy Fallon video that made me laugh. I did this every single day.
This small practice rendered big results. As I practiced more and more, I started to recognize the little things throughout the day that I was thankful for. Things I always seemed to miss before. Not only did this practice improve my mental health, but it also improved my emotional and physical health. My overall attitude changed. I felt like I was naturally more calm and composed. I was more present. Negative things that happened throughout the day didn’t seem to shake me as much as it did before. I become more resilient. I felt…content. Finally, after suffering and being unhappy for most of my life, for the first time, I felt content. Even in the depths of depression, grief and anxiety.
Talk about life changing, huh?
The more I practiced gratitude, the happier I became. This was a strange feeling, after enduring the heavy circumstances in 2020. If anyone can provide living proof of the true power of gratitude, it’s Mindful Marie. I speak passionately about this practice, because it works. It FREAKIN’ works guys! Alright, alright I’m done.
What are you grateful for today? I challenge you to take just a few minutes to write on a piece of paper what you’re grateful for. Heck, write it on a napkin for all I care! Just do the dang thing and allow yourself to truly feel content and happy. You deserve it and are ready for it.
Click here to hear me speak more on gratitude!
Love you all.
MM
