Healthy Habit #3: Gratitude
Giving thanks. Appreciation. This is something that can be taken for granted and frankly, our “go go go” society plus technology (smartphones) foster impatience and instant gratification. How quickly wi fi connects you on your devices, loads up Instagram, fires up Amazon to instantly buy that cat food or diapers you just ran out of. Day by day, we are training our minds to become more impatient, reactive, and upset when we don’t what we want now. When does our brain ever get to take a break or timeout?
Gratitude and appreciation can be the antidote. Slowing down and noticing the positive can create good vibes and set the stage for a positive outlook and day. As Healthy Minds Innovations states, the foundation of being grateful and appreciative is mindfulness (my healthy habit #1 if you recall!), which is intentionally observing the present moment without judgment. Mindfulness can help us enter the best headspace or arena to make gratitude possible.
I’m guessing you’ve heard of a gratitude journal or writing down 3 things you are grateful for. Both are wonderful practices and if these fit what you’re looking for, go for it! I’m going to share about another way to practice gratitude that is often overlooked.
Practicing gratitude w/ a flavor of mindfulness can be easier to implement than you think. For example, next time you take a shower, pause before turning on the water. Look at the faucet or shower head as water before turning on the water. Think about what needed to happen for water to come out of the shower head. Where did the water originate? When did it get cleaned, recycled, sent to your home? How far did the water travel through underground pipes or within your well system? Then, what had to happen for the water to hit you at the desired temperature?
How about next time you sit down to eat, maybe while watching March Madness when you’re glued to the TV and not paying much attention to the food on your plate. Pause, and take a moment: what food is on your table and what had to happen for it to get there? Where did the process start? Did someone hand pick the apples off the tree? Then it was packaged, transported, sanitized, priced, and set out on the shelves at the grocery store? I’m sure I missed some steps in that process but the point is, you are taking time to consciously think about that process. How lucky you are to be able to go to the store and purchase food prepared for you?!
As Dr Rick Hanson says, “how you use your mind changes your brain”. In other words, what you rest your mind on (i.e. what you focus on, what thoughts and feelings you give attention to) also shapes your brain. Research is now clear that the brain is “plastic” and can change, strengthen, and grow well into adulthood. So, introducing a little gratitude in the shower or at the dinner table could be the start of taking in more of the good in life and letting it soak in, which will help elevate your mood and train your brain to focus on the good. Dr Hanson reminds us, “The brain is like Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positives ones”. This can be changed by practicing gratitude over and over again to strengthen your brain like a muscle when working out consistently. In the end, it is a choice and you have the power to make it. Join me.
Sources:
-Center for Healthy Minds - https://centerhealthyminds.org/
-Healthy Minds Innovations’ “Healthy Minds Program App” - https://hminnovations.org/meditation-app
-Rick Hanson, PhD - https://www.neurosculpting.com/take-good-rick-hanson-ph-d/ and https://www.rickhanson.net/overcoming-negativity-bias/
