3 Exercises To Stimulate Gratitude
We have always learned that we must be educated. So it would be wise to ask for things politely and show gratitude when someone does something for us. How many times have older people told us that phrase “and how to say it”? And what did we automatically respond to? “Thanks”!
Just like our parents did, today we do with our children. We think it’s critical that they be grateful, but what about us? Are we grateful in our daily lives? The reality is that we should be grateful for many things… Learn to reinforce your gratitude to feel better!
Encourage gratitude to increase our well-being
Gratitude is a feeling that arises when we realize that life, as well as those who are part of it, smile at us in small and large details. In some situations it may give us the feeling that it is unimportant, but knowing how to use and enhance this feeling will help us to make more pleasant emotions appear, in order to increase our positive affect.
When we use it in the right measure, in a balanced way, we can leverage it. Like? First of all, I recommend that you take a moment in your day to think about something you liked, a detail, a word, a gesture… of the person we want to show gratitude to. This person can be your partner or your partner, a friend, a relative, or someone we live with.
Once we have in mind what we want to thank, we can write a personalized and concrete message that will serve as proof of our thanks, reflecting how much we value it. We can also put the date when we wrote these messages and hide it among the person’s things, so that they can find a day, without being expecting.
That way, when you open your wallet or go to get your socks, you’ll find a nice surprise that will make that person feel the same as you: gratitude. If we do this once a week… Imagine the effects! Also, we don’t necessarily have to do this with pen and paper. Taking into account new technologies, the ways in which we can get this very special message to someone else have multiplied.
Gratitude: neither in excess nor in lack, balanced!
We now know how to leverage gratitude when we use it in the right amount. However, it may be that we use it too little or too much… How can we balance it? If we make little use of it, let’s try to intensify this feeling by thanking ourselves for things, as gratitude starts with each one.
For that, we can start the day taking care of ourselves. We can get up 10 minutes early and listen to our body, as it communicates its needs at all times, but to feel them we have to pay attention. So, let’s analyze our facial expression and the condition of our skin, as well as that of the body in general.
As soon as we notice what’s missing, let’s take the shower time to take care of ourselves. In this sense, we can do a sponge massage, consciously feeling the pleasant sensations that appear when doing this. Also, if our skin is dry, we can use moisturizing cream as well. Thus, we will provide a pleasant sensation on every inch of our skin.
No overused gratitude!
Why can too much gratitude harm us? Very simple: it can give the impression that we are not being sincere, which will undermine our social relationships. Because of this, it is important to know how to use gratitude with the right person at the right time. Gratitude, therefore, also requires intelligence to be expressed.
To achieve this, we can make a record for a week in which we will note the times we thank you, as well as people’s reactions to our gratitude. Once the seven days have passed, we’ll be able to see if anyone told us that we didn’t need to thank them.
It may be that people don’t react when we show gratitude because of how often we give thanks. The alternative might be to look for other ways to show gratitude. That way, we’ll be able to make thanks, finally, have an impact on both you and others, as well as on your relationship… Put these simple exercises into practice to balance and enhance your gratitude!
Images courtesy of Matt Jones, Aaron Burden and Ben White.
