Happy Monday! Episode 9
Gratitude and resilience
Transcript
Good morning and happy Monday! I hope you spent some time this week compiling your list of amazing achievements and celebrating the awesomeness that is you. If you need a refresher, or don’t have any idea what I’m talking about, check out last week’s video on self-confidence and resilience.
Today we’re going to talk about another component of resilience. That is gratitude. It seems like an especially appropriate topic, with Thursday being Thanksgiving…at least in the United States, which is where I happen to live.
I think we can all agree that gratitude is a virtue no matter where you live or what the time of year, but what does gratitude have to do with resilience?
Well, there is scientific evidence that grateful people are more resilient to stress, whether minor everyday annoyances or major life struggles. It seems consciously cultivating gratitude builds up a sort of psychological immune system that cushions us when hard times hit. Gratitude provides a wider perspective from which we can view life in its entirety and not be so overwhelmed by temporary circumstances.
Of course, being grateful doesn’t mean that you won’t feel pain or wish that things were different, but these unpleasant feelings can exist side-by-side with gratitude. You can be sick and afraid and be grateful for your doctor. You can wish that you were in your bed asleep and still be appreciative of a beautiful sunrise. You can feel heartbroken and at the same time grateful for a friend’s shoulder to cry on.
That said, it’s not always easy to tap into that gratitude during difficult times. It will definitely help if you’ve been developing your gratitude muscle during happier times. So today I’m going to share with you three simple daily exercises to foster gratitude.
Keep in mind that performing these exercises for a week won’t instantly make you feel more grateful or happier, any more than doing situps for a week magically transforms your abs. The idea isn’t to try to force your feelings, but just to exercise your gratitude muscle, and let your feelings follow as they will.
- Start each day with five quiet minutes of gratitude meditation or prayer. This will look slightly different for each of you, but just to give you an example, my gratitude meditation looks like this: I sit on a meditation cushion, take a couple of deep breaths, and say “Thank you for…” and then whatever comes to mind. “Thank you for the air I am breathing. Thank you for my healthy lungs. Thank you for this roof over my head on a rainy day.” You get the idea; it’s a free flow of gratitude.
- Express appreciation throughout the day. Say thank you a lot…anytime that someone does something kind or helpful, no matter how small. Then every once in a while, put in that extra effort and make a phone call or send a thank you note to someone special.
- Finish up the day with an entry in a gratitude journal. This can be as simple as jotting down three good things that happened during the day. My entry for yesterday might go like this: a good cup of coffee, a hot shower, a funny text exchange with my siblings. That’s all there is to it!
Try that for a week and see if you don’t start forming a gratitude habit . If you need a jump start, before you leave today, leave a comment telling us one thing that you are grateful for.
I believe you’ll find that an added benefit of cultivating gratitude is that it improves your relationships…and strong relationships are another component of resilience, which we will talk about next week.
Until then, have a beautiful, gratitude-filled day. Happy Thanksgiving, and I will see you next Monday.
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Shared on the GRAND Social and #MLSTL.
All great advice Christie!! You’re really getting good at this! I’m enjoying your vids 🙂
Thank you Dee. I wish I could find a better place to do my recording, but so far the best lighting I’ve found in my house is in my bedroom.
Well, that’s the room you wake up in on Monday morning for these vids, sounds good to me and your bedroom looks nice so go with what works until you decide another location is better for you.
Good point, Dee. I appreciate the feedback.
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I end each day by naming those things, great and small, for which I am grateful that day. It’s a comfort to not only say thanks but also a pleasant way to review your day.
I couldn’t agree more. And sometimes during the day I’m more attentive to the good things that happen, because I am thinking ahead to my nightly list.
Great suggestions – and perfect advice for this holiday week. Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you Sheryl. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours as well!
Good tips for a centred start to the day. #MLSTL
Thank you Lydia.Enjoy your week!
Fabulous Christie, gratitude is vital in all we do. Great advice and happy thanksgiving to you 🙂 #mlstl
Thanks Deb. Gratitude certainly makes the good times more enjoyable and the hard times more manageable. Happy Thanksgiving to you as well!
Great advice – and timely at this time of the year. Obviously we don’t do thanksgiving in Australia, but wishing you and your family a happy thanksgiving #MLSTL
Thank you Joanne. Enjoy your week!
Hi, Christie – Thank you for sharing another critical topic. The research on gratitude in mind-blowing. From positively affecting our mental health, physical health, happiness, self-esteem, sleep and resilience… it is truly incredible how much punch this small shift in focus can pack.
I couldn’t agree more, Donna. We had a rough night with my mom, who is ill. Through it all, I kept thinking how grateful I was for three siblings that live close by and the hospice nurse, who rushed to our aid. I was also deeply grateful for my husband dropping everything and coming with me. She was better by the time we left, and I am grateful for that as well.
Such very lovely and wonderful advice. Perfect post for this week. Thanks for sharing it. #MLSTL
Thank you Patrick. Happy thanksgiving to you and yours as well!
Hi Christie – you’re doing so well with your videos and you seem to really be getting into the groove with them. Do you think it’s making a difference to your blogging in any particular ways? I’m always interested to know why people try new things.
Great thoughts today – resilience and gratitude are both very high on my radar.
Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 🙂
Hi Leanne. You ask a good question. I tried video, because I was intrigued by other bloggers’ videos. I like the chance to see them in action, hear their voices, and see their mannerisms. It made me feel like I knew them better. As far as my blogging, I’m thinking I may switch to an every-other-week format–video one week and a written blog the next–and see if I like that. It’s a lot working full time, taking care of family matters, building a new house, and blogging and vlogging every week. I have not seen a big change in my audience or engagement due to adding video. Thanks for getting me thinking about all that. Have a lovely week!
I’ve read about gratitude and our health before, and it sure makes sense to me. And I love your 3 exercises, Christie! They are simple and would really keep us focused on being grateful. I’m good with #1 and pretty good with #2 although I don’t write thank you notes very often, mostly verbal. Writing in a journal is something I keep trying to do and be consistent with; I have a journal of prayers of gratitude which is very similar to your suggestion. Happy Thanksgiving! #MLSTL
Thanks for sharing your experience, Candi. It sounds to me like you are further along than many people in cultivating gratitude. While there is something to writing out what you are grateful for, if I forget, I like to at least mentally run through three good things as I lie down to sleep. I find myself periodically throughout the day thinking, “If I were to choose my three things now, they would be…” A happy habit to have. Enjoy your week!
I love the metaphor about the ab muscles! I think I will try and add in an evening gratitude meditation. I often include gratitude in my morning pages, though not every day. I do think that usually I have an attitude of gratitude, when I stop and think. Sometimes reactions happen first! But I (almost) always say thank you – my momma taught me that. I think recognizing people who do things for you – servers, cashiers, hold the door, etc – is an important part of community and civility. Something we can’t have too much of these days.
Amen to saying thank you Pat! That’s something my mother taught me as well and it’s been passed on to our children and grandchildren. When we all go out to dinner, we sometimes laugh at how many thank yous get said!
A timely piece to coincide with the gratitude of Thanksgiving. I agree, beginning the day with gratitude is priceless. I am currently doing a 20 day gratitude and meditation course and loving how it get my day started on the right foot. Thank you! Sharing on my SM.
Hello Barbie! 20 days of meditation and gratitude sounds lovely. It sounds like you are enjoying it.
I work on gratitude every day, yet I still need to remind myself in certain situations. I love your phrase “unpleasant feelings can exist side-by-side with gratitude.” I always appreciate your positive energy, Christie, and the good you put into the Universe. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! #MLSTL and sharing SM
I think that’s probably true for all of us, Erica–I mean the “still have to remind” ourselves part. Thank you for the kind words. I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving. #MLSTL
I love this!
Two years ago, I was going through an extremely difficult (and horrific, actually) time, and my dear yoga teacher kept pushing me to be grateful for what I have and focus on the lessons I needed to learn. I was able to focus on how loved and connected I felt to those who supported me, and I still think of that when I remember that time.
Hello Bethany. Thank you for sharing your personal experience. It’s so good to have the loving support of others during those horrific times–and to allow yourself to recognize and be grateful for that. I am happy to hear that the love and connection is a big part of what you remember about that time.
Agree-why wait until Thanksgiving to talk about or think about what we are grateful for? I began meditating a few months ago and it has kept me mindful of my gratitude. Why is it we always focus on our needs and wants? I just ordered a journal and part of it is to focus each day on gratitude, so your piece is very timely.
Thanks for sharing!
It always intrigues me, Theresa, when what we focus on comes to us in abundance. You’ve been thinking about gratitude, and it manifests itself all around you. Now, I know it’s Thanksgiving season, so gratitude is a hot topic, but still…