7 Ways To Boost Your Health by Practicing Gratitude

Whatever the reason write it down in a gratitude journal and use that as a reference that you come back to whenever youre struggling or you just need a reminder about what inspires you.
When you think to yourself My life hasnt been very good you can look back and see objectively that theres actually been a lot of good things in your life and theres
a lot to be grateful for she adds.
5. Get active in the issues you care about the most
Ever find yourself scrolling through all the negativity on your social media newsfeed and then find it hard to resurface from the latest disaster making headlines? What do you do with all the heavy feelings youre having about important issues like climate change or food insecurity?
If youre looking for a way out of those ruminating thoughts you can practice gratitude by volunteering to help others who are directly affected by the issues you care about the most.
By being actively involved youre going to feel far better about your concerns and its going to feel far more gratifying to connect with others who are making a difference says Dr. Alexander.
6. Model good behavior
For parents looking to instill gratitude in your children perhaps the best way is to model that behavior during conversations at the dinner table during prayer before bedtime or even during mundane activities that pop up throughout the day.
Bring it up in everyday conversation talk about how thankful you are that theres a refrigerator full of food or that youre thankful for the raise at work or how youre thankful for the way your child helped out a friend in class recommends Dr. Alexander. Its important for us to be thankful for these things and the best way to cultivate that attitude is to say these things out loud to each other.
7. Enhance your appreciation for your lived experiences
So much of gratitude is rooted in mindfulness. At the end of the day if theres anything you do try to be present in every situation and do your best to keep yourself grounded. Thats certainly not always easy to do in a busy world. But when we set out to be intentional about everything we do even the simplest act of having a meal can be an experience full of gratitude.
Our experience with food is a good example because its often something that we just inhale and we dont spend a whole lot of time thinking about it says Dr. Alexander. But mindful eating can be a way to cultivate gratitude by paying more attention to the smell taste and texture. By cultivating a more mindful attitude we can start to be grateful for the food we have in front of us.