Five Reasons Why Gratitude Will Get You Through 2021
Last year will go down in history as one of the most anxiety-inducing and limiting years of our time. While the word 'unprecedented' became overused, it was an accurate reminder that we were facing the unknown in all spheres of life.
So to kick off 2021, and our year of Mental Health Challenges, we thought starting with a Gratitude Practice for the month of January would be the best way to ground ourselves and refresh our perspective for the year ahead. Before
you head over and download the printable calendar and notepad for this month, here are five big reasons why practicing gratitude is great not just for anxiety but for increasing resilience and mental well-being:
Health Benefits: Although a gratitude practice is primarily psychological, it has some important physical benefits including reducing blood pressure, improving quality of sleep, increasing the frequency of exercise sessions, and significantly decreasing depressive symptoms.
Emotional Benefits: Not only does gratitude help to make us feel happier, because instead of focusing on the bad, we're focused on the good, it also increases our sense of self-esteem by reducing feelings of envy and helps to protect us by continuing to keep our hope alive.
Social Benefits: No one likes a Debbie-Downer, and conversely people are attracted to someone who is grateful - that means friendships, romantic relationships, and family bonds are strengthened when we develop our grateful muscles. Social support is crucial to surviving hard times, and gratitude can help to boost it.
Career Benefits: Whether you are managed or a manager, gratitude helps to decrease impatience, improve decision-making, reduce staff turnover, and create a sense of community with increased praise-giving and motivation. While complaining brings a workplace down, gratitude lifts it up for all (customers included!).
Personality Benefits: Gratitude is like a gate-way drug to a better personality. It shifts your focus and begins to impact your generosity, spiritual life, and materialistic drives - people who are grateful, give more, are grounded spiritually and have fewer materialistic drives due to an increased feelings of 'enough' or satisfaction.
Want to join us this month and begin to see some of these benefits in your life? Head to the 2021 Mental Health Challenge page, under the Resources tab, and click on January to find out more information, download your printable calendar, and your notepad with prompts.
We're grateful for a new year, for a fresh start, and for a community of grateful people to join us on our journey!