CHANGE YOUR MOOD WITH GRATITUDE
Having an ‘attitude of gratitude’ is a daily habit that has, literally, changed my life. It’s a key player on my wellness team and it got promoted to team captain early in its career. It works hard in the winter, because that’s when I need it most.
The thing about gratitude is that it’s fun and easy to include in our daily lives. It gives us something tangible to work with that effects real change quite quickly, and it works. Psychologist and best-selling author Shawn Achor has made a career out of studying the science of happiness, and it just so happens he’s one of my favourite authors. He’s penned books such as Before Happiness and The Happiness Advantage — books that make me smile before I even open their covers.
Having suffered from depression for most of my life, I always based my happiness on external factors such as work, money and success, but real happiness is an inside job, and one that needs to be worked on daily and taken seriously. I never realised that I could choose to be happier, as I always thought that you were either a happy person or a sad person.
I had written myself off, until I discovered the world of positive psychology and neuroplasticity (rewiring the brain). The fact that the brain can rewire itself through experiences is a relatively new discovery, but a very exciting one. It basically means that you can alter the structure and function of your brain through mental training. Working with many different therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and including some mindfulness, meditation and gratitude in my day, I soon discovered that it’s possible to rewire your brain at any stage in your life. Just like exercising your muscles, you do have to use it, or you will lose it. So you need to be consistent with your happiness habits.
Think of gratitude as your psychological hot-water bottle to get you through winter. It’s great fun for the family, too. The health benefits include better sleep, fewer illnessess, better mood, increased empathy, improved self-esteem, and it has even been shown to have anti-aging benefits!
Every evening, I ask my six-year-old son, James, to go through his day and pick the one thing he is most grateful for. This is my favourite part of the day, as not only do I get an insight into his world, but it’s also an important habit that encourages him to see the good things that happen each day. When I pick him up from school, I always hear the negative stories about who is in trouble or what went wrong, but this way I get to hear about the good things that happen too. It can be a fun game at dinner, or a great way to start the morning.
Rick Hanson, psychologist and author of Hardwiring Happiness says, “the brain is like Velcro for negative experiences and Teflon for positive ones”. I have found that working with my brain and on my happiness has brought contentment and an energy of appreciation into my life in a more natural way. Keeping a gratitude journal has also helped me to keep my life in perspective and see beyond the seemingly bad stuff. So why not give yourself a mindful break, and try keeping a gratitude journal this winter.