FCTB024: The Value of Practicing Gratitude & Tools to Support You

It has been said that “It’s not happy people who are thankful, it is thankful people who are happy”. I also found these definitions of gratitude and I wanted to share these with everyone.

Gratitude is our ability to see the grace of God, morning by morning, no matter what else greets us in the course of the day. – M. Craig Barnes

Gratitude a gracious acknowledgment of all that sustains us, a bow to our blessings, great and small. – Jack Kornfield

Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives.

Gratitude is one of those things that we forget about. Buried and suppressed underneath the routine, tasks, and challenges that come with daily life. Today I will be talking about why is it important to practice gratitude and how doing so can influence and affect us holistically.

To be able to discuss this lesson in mindfulness effectively, I shared:

• A story of how the lack of gratitude, the presence of negative energy and focusing on burdens and complaints can manifest in different aspects of our life and opportunities (3:05).
• How my dog Ivy is a great example of how the ebb and flow of feelings of burden and gratitude occur (5:45).
• Scientific researches conducted illustrating how practicing gratitude affects individuals’ outlook, behavior, and most remarkably health – supporting longevity, diminishing stress, and decreasing risk of complications in the cardiovascular and nervous system (9:10).
• What is the Losada Ratio a.k.a. Nagging Ratio, and how it is correlated with the success of a marriage or relationship (4:00).
• How gratitude plays a role in achieving a healthier social life, enhancing energy levels and spirituality, creating better career opportunities, improving finances, and curbing materialism (15:19).
• The things I am thankful for, my habits to be reminded of these (16:52), and other practices to remain thankful, express and nurture gratitude (21:24).

It is true that we don’t know what we’ve got until it’s gone. We all sometimes feel burdened by a lot of things that are actually blessings. It is a matter of changing our outlook and appreciating what we have to realize this. I hope this episode will help you remain mindful and practice gratitude – especially the meditation portion!

Relevant Links:
The Magic of Thinking Big by David Schwartz | Amazon
The Psychology of Gratitude by Dr. Michael McCullough and Dr. Robert Emmons
Counting Blessings Versus Burdens | by Dr. Michael McCullough and Dr. Robert Emmons
The Ideal Praise-to-Criticism Ratio
The Power of Positivity, In Moderation: The Losada Ratio

[smart_track_player url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/fromcaterpillarstobutterflies/FCTB024_-_The_Value_of_Practicing_Gratitude_and_Tools_to_Support_You.mp3″ social=”true” social_twitter=”true” social_facebook=”true” social_gplus=”true” social_linkedin=”true” social_pinterest=”true” social_email=”true” ]

Is this an area you are struggling with and would like my help on? Or do you know someone who’ll benefit with this episode? Email me at [email protected] or comment below so we can catch-up and see how we can work together.

Subscribe to the podcast via Patreon to get first dibs to episodes and other exclusive content. You can also find the show on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, GooglePlay, and Podbean. Remember to leave the podcast a rating and review on the platform you’re listening to so we can reach more people and move up the rankings.

Thank you for listening and supporting From Caterpillars to Butterflies. Until next time!