How Using Gratitude Can Help Rewire Your Brain
If you’ve been looking for a way to get a more positive outlook naturally, practicing gratitude can help. It may seem unbelievable, but studies have shown that you can change the structure of your brain by becoming more appreciative in your daily life. This is thanks to the human brain’s neuroplasticity, the ability for new neural connections to be formed throughout our lives.
Gratitude is defined as thankfulness and appreciation for something. With the right methods, it’s easy to form new habits of gratitude that will increase feelings of well-being for a healthy brain and a more positive outlook on life.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of our reality in the present moment. It’s a way of observing our thoughts, feelings, and surroundings without judging them or being overly reactive to them. Practicing mindfulness is simple, however some may find it difficult due to the fast-paced world that we live in.
Using mindfulness can help us realize that there is no right or wrong way to exist, and that just being is enough sometimes. Mindfulness can have a real impact on the way we react to stressful situations and help us have a more calm outlook on life.
Journaling
Journaling is another way to examine our thoughts and feelings from an objective standpoint. You can write about good things or struggles that have happened to you during the day or week and set intentions for the days ahead. Journaling in this way can help you become more aware of the way that you react to and experience your life.
It’s a good idea to write down things that you are grateful for every day to make yourself more aware of the good parts of what makes you feel joy in life. Recognizing the value of things in your life by writing them down can be very fulfilling in the long term.
Try Living Simply
To truly appreciate the things you have, it might be a good idea to forgo using them for a short period of time. One way that you can do this is by holding back on purchases you may be eyeing whilst finding a new appreciation for the things you already have and their value in your life. This can make you realize that everything in the world has value, and that you are actually wealthier than you think.
To practice living simply, try doing things in old-fashioned ways. Make a recipe from scratch, read instead of watching TV, walk instead of drive, and try to stifle desires for excess and superfluous purchases. After a period of time doing this, you will notice a renewed appreciation for things that you use every day.
Be In Nature
Spending time in nature is a great way to reconnect and rebalance. Getting back to the great outdoors will help lift your spirits and make you see the good things in your life. Sometimes we get too wrapped up in negativity and criticism that we experience in everyday life or online. Spending time outside can help us to have gratitude for being alive and being a part of nature.
Share With Loved Ones
Practice focusing on gratitude with your loved ones or friends. Discussing what you are thankful for on a regular basis can be beneficial to your mental health and cause you to have a more positive outlook. This is easy to do every night at dinner or in the morning with your family.
Simply listing three things that we are grateful for every day can make us feel more wellbeing and positivity towards the events and objects in our lives. With regular practice, a healthier, more peaceful mental state can be achieved.
Reframe The Situation
Oftentimes in life, we may feel downtrodden by events that happen to us or perceived misfortunes. Seeing these things through a lens of gratitude can help us cope with this.
It may be helpful to try seeing things that happen to you through a neutral point of view; recognizing that things that happen are neither good nor bad. Something perceived as bad that happens to you may lead to a blessing in the future. The truth is, you never know what the future holds. It’s best to live in the moment and see your current situation as both flexible and full of possibilities.
By focusing on gratitude, the negativity in our lives can be turned into positivity. There are many ways to facilitate more gratitude in your life, and none require any money or fancy gadgets. Try out these methods daily to train your brain towards optimism and harmony.