Holistic Well-Being is a crucial subject for everyone. All of us face challenges that create stress which impacts our sense of well-being. What are some of the antidotes? Wellbeing and antidotes to stress can be divided into five parts – physical, emotional, mental, relational, and spiritual. Gratitude is a powerful emotional wellbeing muscle, backed by years of psychological research.
Gratitude is the approach that focuses on the positive, trumping the mind and helping relieve stress in a big way. We can either have a day where we are constantly complaining – about the situation in the world, about our neighbor, about the system in which we live in our country, city or colony. That is the half empty glass. An attitude of gratitude looks at the half full glass. What all is there in our daily experience and life to be grateful for?
When I was laid up with a heart attack at the age of 35 years, there was enough to complain about – a career trajectory gone awry, limitations to my lifestyle, a stigma to live with etc. This experience, on the other hand, completely changed my life trajectory. I could get my first floor vacated from exploitative tenants for being a heart patient, and I changed my professional career to take on something meaningful that I was really passionate about. Without an attitude of gratitude, this would have been impossible for me to achieve.
I am sharing here some practices with the help of which you can make gratitude a way of life for you and your family.
1. Make a gratitude diary. Every night before you go to sleep, write 3 to 5 things you were grateful for, during the day that went by.
2. Write a gratitude letter to someone important in your life. Talk in some detail as to why you are grateful to that person. It could be your friend, teacher, sibling, parent, child – anyone. Preferably read it to them in-person or on phone, if they are in a different city/country. Observe the energy shift then and till much later.
3. Keep a Gratitude/Appreciation Jar at home. If you feel grateful for someone’s action in the house, write about it briefly on a piece of paper, “I appreciate and am grateful to XYZ for …. (the reason). At the end of every week, open the jar and read out the notes in the presence of the entire family.
4. Before you shoot off a complaint in a letter, email or on WhatsApp, first express your gratitude and say something positive about the person, team or situation and then state your concern. If you remain in an attitude of gratitude, I can bet you that even the language you use to complain will soften with time.
5. Bless your food and water you drink with gratitude, before consuming them.
6. Make a list of 108 things and people you are grateful for and why. Push yourself to make a long list.
What other ideas do you have? Share them with us.
This festive season is perhaps the best time to express your gratitude to many and to make gratitude a way of your life as a new year resolution.
