Practicing gratitude helps rewire the brain and body to think and feel more positively. It’s scientifically proven that gratitude reduces stress, anxiety, depression, pain, and builds an overall rapport of satisfaction with one’s life (evidence). Gratitude helps enhance self-esteem, therefore driving productivity and performance on a day-to-day basis (evidence).
A levelled up version of a general gratitude practice is self-gratitude which can be the catalyst to significant, lasting change in your life. Being grateful for people and enjoyable things in your life is important, but self-gratitude is even more helpful.
A self-gratitude practice helps us to recognize and know our worth. Redirecting your gratitude inward enables you to tap into your personal pride and joy which all too often relies on unpredictable, sometimes toxic, external sources of validation.
Here are some ways to build a daily self-gratitude practice:
1. Journal:
““Loving yourself isn’t vanity. It’s sanity.”
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Each day write down a few things about yourself that you’re grateful for, not something someone else said or did, but something about you. This might feel a bit uncomfortable at first – that’s good – that means it’s working! Deep personal growth is rarely comfortable. Once you can let go of the societal stigma that tells us that this sort of practice is “vain or selfish”, self-gratitude will become a habit that will enable you to have more fulfilling relationships with yourself, and others.
You might find it helpful to guide your journaling with these questions:
· What went well for me today; and what qualities about myself am I grateful for?
· What did I learn about myself today?
2. Meditation:
This can be done with your eyes closed or even as you shower or drink your morning coffee. Try to plan a moment each day to breath in and breath out and think of one thing about yourself that makes you grateful. Maybe it’s finding humour in something that lightens up a dull or dark mood that day. Maybe it’s getting out of bed and showering. It could be making the choice to seek therapy, taking the dog for a walk, or …anything that you do for yourself. Finding that daily stillness to reflect on your qualities, or what you’ve done for yourself, will become as natural as breathing.
3. Gratitude jar:
Get creative with your gratitude journaling and use a gratitude jar instead. Throughout the day or week, write down on post-it notes what you feel the most self-gratitude for and compile them in a jar. Every time you take a look at the jar you will be instantly reminded of how much you have to be grateful for and how much more you can still add to it.
4. Accept compliments:
““The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”
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Okay, now this is one that used to be very difficult for me (& sometimes still is depending on the context). Practice simply saying “Thank You” when given a compliment by someone else instead of rushing to dismiss or downplay it. Allow your body to feel the joy of those kind words and try not to question it. Try to consider a compliment as a gift that is given to you, and allow the person who gives you that gift to enjoy your gift of gratitude.
You can also take this a step further and write these down in list form or on pieces of paper to add to that jar. Refer back whenever you’re feeling down for a quick reminder of why you deserve to be grateful for yourself.
5. Say it out loud!
Begin or end the day by saying your self-gratitude out loud. Whether it’s when you first open your eyes or in the shower, research has shown that saying positive affirmations aloud has lasting effects and increases motivation. By saying what you’re grateful for out loud, the sentiments will become more tangible and you’ll start to not just say them, but believe them, too!
-Written by Carla Mae Leuschen