Practicing gratitude can feel tricky.  We don’t always “feel” like it.  What if the word gratitude was replaced by the word appreciation? It’s actually not about what we call it, but the feeling we get that fires those neurons in our brain. In my opinion, call it whatever you want.    

Transcript:

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in 2-ish minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat and gratitude can be tricky.  If gratitude is the word that gets you hung up.  What if it was appreciation?  This is all semantics, right?  Can you appreciate something today?  Anything?  You see, that’s gratitude.  

What happens in our brain is that the more we notice what we appreciate, the more appreciation we will see.  What we focus on grows.  So it’s less about the phrase we call it and really have everything to do with how we feel.  What happens is the neurons in our brains are fired when we have these feelings and that’s what we want more of.  The language, what we call it, in my opinion, really doesn’t matter.   

So how do we fire these neurons and help our brains, really train our brains to pick out the good.  

We can start by observing.  Notice the small things.  Say Thank you, and mean it.  And when that situation arises where you say “thank you” take a moment and take note about how you are feeling.  

There is some compelling evidence that remembering the bad can make you feel grateful for the present.  This is referred to as negative visualization.  If you either remember the bad or think of a life without the thing you love, your spouse, clean drinking water, you can appreciate it more. 

Sharing gratitude or appreciation with others is also a surefire way to get those neurons firing.  Not only does it strengthen relationships, which we know how important social connection is for happiness, but it also puts out into the world your good vibes, your gratefulness.

There are a million ways to do anything and your way is the right way.  What works for you is what works for you.  You get to explore and decide what lights you up.  Perhaps a gratitude journal isn’t your thing, but sending notes of kindness and appreciation is more your style.  Well, then you know what works for you.  This exploration is all positive.  This is your recipe and you get to choose the ingredients.  

Until next time, remember, kindness is contagious. 

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