Gratitude or thankfulness comes from the Latin word gratus: “pleasing or thankful”. It’s a feeling of appreciation for receiving kindness, help or some other form of gift. This November is National Gratitude Month. Did you know that it is good for you to feel grateful? There are benefits to gratitude that can improve your health and your life.
The Benefits of Being Grateful
- It makes you less self-centered. When you are grateful you are focusing on someone else, the giver of something that has made you feel grateful. Though you can feel grateful for the things you have (and you should), the nature of gratitude is to appreciate those in your life. This same tendency toward thinking about others can urge you to help them more.
- Gratitude can improve your sleep. Many of us lie awake in our beds at night, worrying about various things in our lives. Spending some time going over what you are grateful for today can help you to relax. This will lower stress levels in your body and helps you to sleep more soundly.
- It makes you feel good. It should come as no surprise that gratitude feels good. It’s a positive emotion, one that is caused by the kindness of someone else. At the same time it can make you look good which only makes sense. You are grateful which causes happiness. Happiness shows in the way you carry yourself and by the look on your face. It’s attractive.
People have found that the more they are grateful for what they have in their lives, the less materialistic they become. This increases their feelings of well-being. There are so many more benefits when you are grateful. This November try out the 30 day Global Gratitude Challenge. Each day write down something that you are grateful for and as the month progresses read them each day. You don’t have to stop with November. Gratitude is available every day! To read more about National Gratitude Month, click here.
