Let’s face it…2020 has been a rough year. With Thanksgiving vastly approaching and more holidays on the horizon, your celebrations probably won’t look the same as they did in the years prior. This entire year probably looks a lot different than the year prior and that’s even more reason to find practices that promote wellness and improve your health.
With so much going on in 2020, it can be difficult to get into a positive mindset. You might be sacrificing time with friends or family this Thanksgiving and feeling resentful because of that. It’s understandable if you feel this way, but resentfulness can feed a perpetual state of negativity. Finding gratitude in tough times is an amazing way to turn your thoughts around and change your outlook. Gratitude is not about putting on rose colored glasses or ignoring hardships. Part of practicing gratitude is thinking deeply about the things in your life that bring you joy, give you meaning, sustain your life and connect you a higher-self or higher-power and then showing appreciation for those things. It’s also about acknowledging hardships and what we’ve learned from them. Thanksgiving is a great day to start practicing gratitude but continuing to show appreciation for the things you’re grateful for will have a positive impact on your life year-round.
Gratitude Promotes Wellness
Researchers have actually studied gratitude and documented several benefits that promote wellness overall. Here are the 7 reported benefits and reasons why you need to start practicing gratitude in 20201:
It helps you create new relationships. Thanking an acquaintance or co-worker makes them feel appreciated and more likely to develop an on-going friendship with you.
It improves your physical health. People who practice gratitude felt generally healthier than others, exercised more regularly and reported less pain.
It improves your mental health. Practicing gratitude reduces symptoms of depression and increases feelings of happiness.
It enhances empathy. People who practice gratitude are more empathetic and sensitive toward others who are behaving less kind.
It improves self-esteem. Practicing gratitude reduces social comparison, resentment and envy toward others.
It improves mental strength. A study reported that practicing gratitude reduced stress and helped participants overcome trauma.
Lastly, it can help you sleep! Who couldn’t use better quality sleep? A study reported that participants who did 15 minutes of journaling about what they’re grateful for slept better and longer.
These researchers believe that gratitude practices are some of the most overlooked tools anyone can use to improve mental and physical health. But it’s not always easy to find things to be grateful or thankful for when everything feels stressful or chaotic. You might find it challenging at first. Luckily, there are plenty of activities you can do to get started.
Gratitude Practices to Start Doing This Thanksgiving:
Journaling
Putting pen to paper is one of the best ways to process your thoughts and feelings. You can choose to write freely or follow prompts to stimulate and guide your thoughts. Research suggests that taking just a few minutes to write down 3 things you are grateful for each day can promote wellness. If it feels challenging in the moment, try journaling using these prompts:
- The best part of today was…
- One thing I appreciate about myself is…
- One family member or friend I am grateful for is…
If you’re feeling stuck because you’ve experienced a lot of hardship in 2020, try thinking about that hardship and journal with these prompts:
- What did I learn from my experiences this year?
- How did I grow this year? Or how will I continue to grow?
- I can show gratitude by…
Gratitude Jar
If you like getting crafty a gratitude jar is a good option for you. Grab a jar or box and decorate it however you’d like. Each day think about at least 3 things you are grateful for and write each one down on a slip of paper. You can also use prompts for this practice by writing out your prompts on each slip of paper and pulling one out each day to complete. Keep the completed slips of paper in your jar or box. If you’re having a rough day later on, pull out a few of the slips of paper and read them aloud. Use this to remind you of the things you were grateful for in the past and what you can continue to be grateful for moving forward.
If you’re up for the challenge, try doing one (or both!) of these gratitude practices each day for at least 30 days straight. During your journey you will start to see a shift in your perspective that improves your mental health and boosts positive well-being overall. Thanksgiving in 2020 will definitely look different than it has in the past, but practicing gratitude will help you find many things to be thankful for.
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