1. Gratitude Will Make You Happier

If you were to spend five minutes a day writing in a gratitude journal you will increase your well-being long term. It can increase by 10%. Gratitude also will improve your health, your relationships, emotional state, personality, and your career. Of course, having more income and money is awesome, but we soon will get used to it and the fun is over only leaving us wanting more. This leads to an endless cycle of unhappiness.

2. Gratitude Allows Others To Like Us More

Gratitude will generate you more friends. It tends to make us nicer individuals, also more trusting, much more social, and also more appreciative. As a direct result, we make more friends, we deepen our already existing relationships, and can greatly improve our marriages.

3. Gratitude Helps To Reduce Materialism

Materialism is strongly connected to a reduced sense of overall well-being and is tied to an increased rate of mental disorders. There is absolutely nothing wrong with having or wanting more. The problem starts when it makes us feel trapped in a never ending cycle leaving us feeling incompetent, less grateful, more entitled, and unable to see the beauty in ourselves and others. It increases our need for more which results in a decrease sense of joy and happiness.

4. Reduces Depressive Symptoms

Most often individuals that are depressed can tend to be very self-focused. This does not mean they are intrinsically selfish or non empathetic. They are just very hyper focused on their situation, flaws and shortcomings. Practicing some gratitude allows their attention to be directed away from themselves. Gratitude Increases our resilience. Resilience is the ability to quickly bounce back and to recover very quickly from any setbacks and stressful situations. People that are grateful see the bigger, larger picture and are able to remember the things that are positive in their day to day lives. They seek out social support. They are much less likely to allow bad events send them into a negative downward spiral and are more likely to expand and to grow in times when it is stressful.

5. Improves One’s Self-Esteem

Gratitude helps to make us aware of all of the good things other people can and often do for us. As a direct result, you start to feel loved, very cared for, and extremely appreciative. In return this makes you feel much better about yourself and also improves your self-esteem.

6. Improves Relationships.

Gratitude improves friendships and also romantic relationships. When we demonstrate gratitude to our friends, our partners, or to family members it makes them feel great. It makes us also feel really good, and improves the relationships we are in. When we communicate gratitude we become more likely to work through our problems and our concerns. This in return strengthens and deepens our relationships.

Try for one week to start by getting out a journal and writing 5-10 things you are grateful for. Set your daily intention to seek out ways to find gratitude in the small and large events occurring in your everyday life. There is so much to be grateful for. If you find yourself struggling to find joy and gratitude in everyday life seek help today.

What is Gratitude?

Here at High Expectations Counseling we have a talented staff of  therapists that are eager to help you find the gratitude your missing in your life today. Call us at 407-967-1327 today.