The Power of Gratitude: How Does It Benefit Us in Our Lives?

The power of gratitude is incredible, despite being ignored by almost everyone. A simple “thank you” can be a powerful energy, a force that motivates us to live better and happier lives and, also, to do more things for others.

This energy is difficult to describe in a few sentences, therefore let's talk at length about what the power of gratitude is, inviting you to practice it more often.

• Related article: "How to maintain good relationships with others: 8 tips"

What is the power of gratitude?

Many of us ignore it, but the power of gratitude is almost infinite and very intense. Be grateful, both giving thanks when someone does something good for us and valuing all the things that we have in our lives, however small and insignificant they may seem, bring with it many Benefits.

Gratitude should take on greater importance, and more so now that we live in a world in which human relationships are becoming more informal but colder. There are many gestures that are undervalued despite meaning so much ...

But what is gratitude? In its most academic definition, properly a dictionary, we understand gratitude as that feeling that compels us to estimate the favor that the good treatment we have received has done us, so that we recognize and reciprocate this attitude. In a simpler way, we can say that it is an emotion that we feel when we are grateful for something or someone that has benefited us. Gratitude is felt when our existence has been improved, and we want to return the favor.

But they don't need to have done anything significant to us. We don't have to be grateful for just powerful gestures, those who write headlines in newspapers such as "man saves a child from falling off a balcony" or "woman prevents a motorist from falling down a bridge". We also feel gratitude when someone does something as simple as saying the right words to us at the right time, or makes a kind and pleasant gesture when they see that we are a little wrong. Therefore, gratitude is also valuing what we have and appreciating the little things in life that, without them, would be sadder.

• You may be interested in: "What is kindness as a personality trait?"

The benefits of gratitude

It is curious that, despite the great power of gratitude, it is practiced by few. Curious, but not strange. Most of us have a negative thinking style, even if we are people who consider ourselves minimally optimistic. Two-thirds of our thoughts are focused on negative things, both past and future. As if it were breathing, human beings apply the negative bias in everything that happens to us daily.

Fortunately, practicing gratitude can serve as "the cure" for this bias. We must not make mistakes and think that the negativity bias is typical of a person with a mind pathological, but yes that obsessively focusing on everything bad that happened and that could happen is not going to bring nor happiness nor well-being. It is logical to be a bit pessimistic, since nothing in this life is guaranteed to turn out well, but we should not ignore all the good that happens to us. Gratitude will help us to take into account the positive things in our lives.

There are many benefits that being grateful for what surrounds us brings us. We could mention a long list with each and every one of the improvements in our day to day life that involves thanking people for all the good things they do for us. It also implies knowing how to value the good things that without being owed to anyone in particular, we have and allow us to have a life that many people in the world wish they had, as they do to have a house, to be able to shower with hot water every morning or, simply, not to spend hunger.

Among the powers of gratitude we find that expressing it can lift our spirits when we are emotionally down or anxious. Gratitude allows us to see that, despite adversity, despite going through a rough patch, not everything is bad. It is true that there will be bumps along the road of life, but there will also be moments full of true happiness, and although now it is difficult for us to see it and maybe even understand it, good things always come after a bad time. Consequently, it will also grant us greater mental health.

It also has the power to free us from toxic emotions. You know, grudges, hatred, bad relationships... It is very difficult to find totally bad people in the world, people who do things to harm us just for the sake of it. Not everything is black or white, but each thing has its nuances and people do not escape this rule. Someone may have hurt us one day, but knowing how to value all the good they have done to us will prevent us from falling into the black and toxic trap of resentment. Goodness is everywhere, even if it doesn't always show up.

This excitement can also mean fewer visits to the doctor. In general, people who are grateful for life are more likely to watch their eating habits, in addition to practicing more exercise. Instead of obsessing over everything bad that happens to them, they appreciate the good times and take advantage of their free hours, since they know that time is money.

By having a more positive outlook on life, practicing sports and taking care of their diet, they fall less times in the disease and, in case they fall ill, they show their good face convinced that they will go ahead. For this reason, grateful people also live longer and better.

• You may be interested in: "How to ask for favors: 5 practical tips"

How to put it into practice?

Seeing the power of gratitude and the benefits it brings, surely many at this point must wonder how to put it into practice. Really, it is nothing complicated, nothing more than feeling grateful for the good things that happen to us. It is true that in life there are many bad things that, perhaps, cloud our judgment and make us focus our attention only on the negative.

However, for many bad things that can always happen to us, there will always be something good, something positive for which to feel gratitude. Luckily for you dear reader, here are a few tips to put gratitude into practice (look, something to be thankful for).

1. The list of good things

There are hundreds, thousands of good things that happen to us frequently and that if they weren't there would make a big difference in our lives. Be healthy, have a family, have a job, not have died from coronavirus ...

We can make a list of the good things that have happened to us or that we are enjoying right now, put it in a visible place in our home and review it every day. Be it in the kitchen, in our room or in the hall, every time we see it we will look at those things for which we feel gratitude for our lives.

Of course, this list will not be closed. We can point out new things every time something good does not happen or we remember something positive, both present and past. And if something that was on the list happens to be no longer, such as a family member dying, let's not cross it out. Being on the list will remind us of all the good that we live with him or her and that, although he or she no longer lives, we are grateful for having had it in our life.

• You may be interested in: "How to be more grateful: 7 useful tips"

2. Thank you ten

When we wake up, we can ask ourselves the following question: "What am I grateful for today?" The idea of ​​this exercise is to try to say out loud ten things for which we are grateful.

It can be anything from having a good night's sleep, having a cup of cocoa with milk for breakfast, not being late, not having caught traffic jams... whatever it is as long as it helps us feel gratitude for how the day is going, which could always go a lot worse.

In the long run, this exercise will become a habit, a routine that will make it easier for us to have a positive vision of our lives., helping us to appreciate the many good things that, however small they may be, always happen.

• You may be interested in: "6 keys to improve your communication in personal relationships"

3. Be grateful for what others do for us

Finally, we propose an exercise to practice interpersonal gratitude. After all, it is much more powerful to feel gratitude towards someone, towards a real person, than towards an event that may be due to a mere combination of coincidences and coincidences.

As we said, in our environment there are always people who will do us favors in a disinterested way. Either sacrificing very intensely for us or simply dedicating a small portion of your time and efforts, the truth is that there are many people who do good things for us simply by wanting to do them.

The time has come to thank him, even if it is with a mere “thank you for what you have done”. If we see ourselves in the moral obligation to thank you more intensely, with a gift, a hug or helping you with something, of course we are free to do it and it is much better than thanking you in words.

Be that as it may, the idea is to give back the good roll, spread gratitude and let others know that we value what they do for us, however insignificant it may seem. And saying thank you is cheap, it doesn't cost anything, let's not shut up such a powerful word.

Seeing all the benefits that gratitude has and how easy it is to make it a habit in our lives, what are you waiting for to practice it? I'm going to start doing it ...

Thanks for reading this article!