If we look for them, we can always find negative things to focus on – sometimes we don’t even have to look for them.
The fastest way to change your outlook and improve your mood is to show gratitude.
Our brains are wired so that we cannot feel two emotions at the same time. We can flip between them, but we can’t feel them at exactly the same time.
Give it a try…close you eyes and think about something sad. Then switch and think about something happy. Now, think about the sad thing and the happy thing at EXACTLY same time.
You can’t do it.
When we show gratitude and appreciation we feel joy and happiness. No matter how we are feeling before showing gratitude we will feel the joy and happiness as soon as we do it. It will change how we feel.
There is actually a scientific explanation for this. When we show gratitude, and when we receive it, our brain releases dopamine and serotonin. These are neurotransmitters that are responsible for our emotions. When they are released we feel good, we feel happy immediately.
When we feel happy and are in a good mood we are more likely to have positive feelings about ourselves, others, and our life. This is especially true when we write out the things we are grateful for and appreciate.
Gratitude not only improves our mood, it can also improve sleep, reduce pain, reduce stress, anxiety and depression.
I keep a gratitude journal and have for years now. I do mine in the morning. It sets the tone for the entire day. When I first started I struggled to come up with 3 things. Now I am up to a full page a day
Give it a try. Take out a piece of paper and write down 3 things for which you are grateful – right now. They don’t have to be big things. They can be simple or small things. For example when it was August in Arizona, I wrote every day that I was grateful that my air conditioning was working.
What are you grateful for today?
“Be thankful for what you have, you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never ever have enough.” – Oprah Winfrey