I am so excited to introduce a great article by another Psychology Major (who completed her BA, and also minored in Studio Art! Here's her Etsy.), guest blogger Jordan McLean! She has educated insights supporting the positive correlation between gratitude and mental well-being!
I’m glad to see that the importance of mental health is increasingly becoming more popular. Mental health and physical health go hand in hand, and we need to prioritize both. In this post I’m going to share with you some of the best information that has changed my entire life with just one simple skill...
Gratitude!
Why Gratitude?
Like many others on New Year’s Eve, I concocted a beautiful resolution. I decided that my resolution was going to more than a feeble attempt at exercising everyday. I want two things out of life; happiness and health.
What started as a New Year’s resolution, became a new way of life.
I learned gratitude, and that has become the leading cause of my happiness since then. Happiness does not come from loads of money, or fancy material items. It comes from the gratitude towards what you have. The richest person in the world will not be happy unless he or she is grateful for what they have, and how hard they've worked. On the reverse, the less fortunate can feel the richest by simply being grateful for what they do have.
With gratitude, anyone can be happy. No matter where you are in life, however much money or materials you have, you can always find happiness through gratitude. Happiness does not happen automatically when you receive a gift. Happiness occurs when you are grateful for that gift.
This is why gratitude is the key to happiness and a healthy mind.
Gratitude Is The Key To Happiness
Gratitude is not something you have to buy, it is a skill you can acquire. Gratitude is one of the easiest trails to happiness, because you can take it with you wherever you go. Stick that baby in your pocket, and pull it out whenever you need it! The really amazing thing about this little trick, is that you can choose to be grateful for anything in any situation. You can choose happiness, and gratitude is how you get there.
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Gratitude Reduces Negative Emotions
Your thoughts have an extremely strong influence on you and your emotions. To put it simply, happy thoughts, happy life. Furthermore, when you spend the majority of your energy thinking happy thoughts, in turn, you spend less energy thinking negative thoughts.
Gratitude shifts your attention to the positive side of life, and releases you from a plethora of negative emotions. This includes but isn’t limited to frustration, jealousy, resentment, and entitlement. Grass is no longer greener on the other side. You start to believe grass is greener where you water it, which is right where you are my friends.
Gratitude Increases Self Esteem
It’s no secret that low self-esteem is associated with negativity. Negative thoughts about yourself, your environment, your abilities, etc. Gratitude increases self-esteem, and reduces social comparisons. When someone’s focus is on themselves and their abilities, they spend less time comparing themselves to others. Gratitude towards yourself allows you to appreciate other people’s accomplishments without enticing jealousy or frustration.
Gratitude Increases Mental Strength
Grateful people are well equipped for difficult obstacles that occur throughout life, and have high levels of resiliency towards adversity. Rather than allowing difficult situations to ruin the day, grateful people are able to take on live’s obstacles with a positive outlook. Once you master gratitude, it’s a skill that will last you a lifetime.
You May Also Be Interested In: 52 Mental Health Journal Prompts for Depression
My homework for you is this...start a gratitude journal. Every night before you go to bed, write down three beautiful things that you’re grateful for.
What are you grateful for?
Meet The Author
Guest Blogger: Jordan McLean
Jordan from BeTheHappyYou is a mental health and lifestyle blogger. Following the completion of her Bachelor's degree in psychology, she decided to share her experiences and knowledge with those who are interested in improving their lives. Most importantly, Jordan is a mental health advocate and a real life resource for people in need.
Website: www.bethehappyyou.com
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/bethehappyyou/