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Changing your GrATTITUDE



It's a long'un again. #sorrynotsorry


Until this year, I had never realised how much of an important part gratitude plays in our overall mental wellbeing.


Turns out, it's pretty damn important.


As I have mentioned in my previous blog post at the start of the year, January Check in, I had started a daily journal.

I'm happy to say that I am still using my journal twice a day and it has very much made a dramatic impact on my overall outlook on things and general mental attitude.


There is a quote at the start of the book I want to share:





In a nutshell, the 6-Minute Diary uses a scientific approach to a happier and more fulfilled life based on positive psychology research and feedback from more than 500,000 users.


This book has almost 1.5k reviews on Amazon and a rating of 4.8/5


Basically, the "6-minutes" is how long you should be spending on it each day. Not a very long time. 3 minutes in the morning, 3 minutes before bed. So easy to stick the kettle on and fill in the morning section while you wait for a cuppa. You don't even have to write in bulk. Literally a sentence, even a word. Sometimes if I'm not feeling it at all I'd just write a single word and go back to it when I was feeling a bit more up to it or when I do the next section. The purpose it to make you think about your answers.


The morning section essentially gets your to list three things you are grateful for, how you will make the day a great one, and a positive affirmation. As small and mundane as these tasks seem, there are so many factors about this little tool that have just become so apparent in my one month of using it so far.



In my opinion, your morning can make or break your day.

If you wake up and are in a foul mood, there's not much you can do to remedy that in a short time frame. Especially if you're rushing for work on a Monday and you just can't be arsed with anything.

The diary essentially trains your brain to look for good things in everyday life.

Now, if you think about something or are looking for it specifically, you end up seeing it everywhere, all the time. Like if you get a new red car and suddenly, the same kinds of cars are all over the place. That's what this book does for you and your happiness and gratitude. It helps to train you focus to find the positive.


Life is all about focus

Oooh, look! A Red Panda!



If there is something we want to build up to or achieve, we focus solidly on that end result. They sometimes say 'dress for the career you want'. If you can see yourself doing it, you will.

Envision where you want to be, and you'll get there.

There is something called the "Red Panda Effect" is Psychology. It basically originated when in 1978, at the Rotterdam Zoo in The Netherlands, the news of the first known escape of a Red Panda was made public, causing a huge response. The animal, also known as "red cat bear" and "fire fox", was (unfortunately) found dead literally as the papers released the news it had escaped. For over a year, the zoo was called multiple times from locals who claimed to have seen the critter (native to The Himalayas and NorthWestern China) around the area.

(Red Pandas are, contrary to popular belief, arboreal animals - better in trees, instead of terrestrial animals - better on the ground, and are known now for their escape artistry and have since been renowned for their disappearing acts)


"The "red panda effect" refers to the way the brain fills in the blanks--you see what you expect to see, in other words. If you're expecting to see a red panda, you see a red panda, even if it's just a raccoon. "


If you want to experience a positive life with happiness and joy, you have to be able to see the genuine, every day, small joys in life now. You wake up and automatically think 'I need to find something today to be grateful for to put in my diary'. I guarantee by the end of the week, even if you started in the foulest mood, you'll be fighting for what to fill those 3 lines with.


But by looking for the good in every day, we are literally training our brains to look out for the positives every day without even realising it.


An article by Harvard University said this:

"In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.......... For example, a study of couples found that individuals who took time to express gratitude for their partner not only felt more positive toward the other person but also felt more comfortable expressing concerns about their relationship."

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I can't express how much I agree with this. Always appreciate your better half. We've got a 100% honesty rule in our home, we always start the day off with an "I love you", and every night before we go to sleep, we give each other a debrief of our day. It makes the world of difference. Don't forget to show your appreciation. If they help with dinner, drive you both somewhere, get the shopping, picked up a choccy bar; always make a point of genuinely saying thank you. When he's made you a cup of squash or tea, when they get the takeaway, takes your plates into the kitchen when you're done - say cheers.


On another hand, be aware when people are being grateful to you. The next time someone does happen to say thanks, acknowledge their gratitude. You'll both feel better.


I saw this image showing the effects of gratitude on your life. See how drastically your life can change with just a little bit of extra gratitude.



If you did want to read up any more about the benefits and positive impact of gratitude in your life, feel free to have a look at these:


Basically, tribe, just say thanks and don't be a dick.


So I will leave you a challenge for this week:

Show as many people you can that you are grateful - do something kind. Whether it's a genuine "Thank you very much, have a nice day" to someone in a shop, holding the door open for someone with a smile, telling someone you love them and appreciate them, make someone a cuppa and just generally not taking for granted what we have in life right now. Take ten seconds each night before you go to bed and just mentally focus on the things throughout the day you are grateful for. At first, you don't even need to physically write it down, (Although if you wanna make your own I would assume a similar one could be replicated based on the 6-Minute Diary.).


Be good to each other.


Peace & love,

H. T.



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