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  • Laurie Teixeira and Jari de Jesus

The Power of Gratitude: How It Shifts Negative Thinking



Did you know your brain may be reprogrammed to replace negative, habitual thoughts with positive ones? The trick? Practicing gratitude.


Practicing gratitude means acknowledging the significance of other people, experiences, and opportunities in your life. It's being mindful and appreciative of what you have. Practicing daily gratitude is a great way to improve your outlook, lift your spirits, and strengthen your resilience in the face of adversity.


How frequently do you find yourself feeling grateful for what you have? Below are some easy exercises that will show you how to change your mind from negativity to gratefulness. Keeping our worries and concerns bottled up inside causes nothing except mental anguish.


By doing these practices, you can relieve the stress brought on by negative thinking and retrain your brain to think more positively.


Ways to Practice Gratitude



Changing one's mindset to one that is more optimistic requires time and effort. If you have trouble maintaining an optimistic outlook or exhibiting self-confidence, try these easy techniques for practicing gratitude.


Write daily in a gratitude journal: Write at least 3 or 5 things you are grateful for every day. It doesn't have to be great things! And then, work up until you have 20 things to list that you are thankful for every day. It can be as simple as tasting your favorite cup of coffee or your dog wagging his tail when you go home from work.


Flip the switch: Find the good in a bad situation by "turning it around" or looking at it from a different perspective. Doing so can swiftly move you out of a terrible mood or negative condition. Therefore it's ideal to do it anytime you notice you're in one.


Example:


The house is such a mess -> I am grateful to have a warm home and a roof over my head.

I have a lot of work to do -> I am thankful to have a job that pays my bills.

My family has so much drama -> I am glad I have a family to care for and love.


Give gratitude to others: When you express gratitude to other people for the support or assistance they have provided, it helps them feel happy and valued. That happiness will invariably come rushing back to you. Therefore, make a habit of offering thanks.


Make it a routine to give yourself specific time each day to reflect on these acts of appreciation. You will find that they quickly transform into a constructive way of life. Due to the brain's flexibility, negativity can be transformed into positivity by practicing gratitude consistently.


To Summarize Gratitude


Having negative thoughts does not make you a negative person; instead, they are habitual, ingrained ways of thinking that our brains automatically go through. The good news is that it is entirely reversible through increased self-awareness.


Our negative ideas can run amok in our heads if we don't stop to notice them, and they'll keep doing so until we learn to observe and detach from them. For this reason, maintaining a consistent level of self-awareness is crucial to our well-being.


Gratitude is a powerful tool for rewiring the brain. It might be challenging at first but with practice; everything comes easier. Commit to yourself one method above or another way you can practice gratitude for the next 30 days and see how it shifts things in your life.


 

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