You can change how you feel. We all have days when we feel down, why not prepare to change how you feel with these gratitude-building strategies?
It's not easy being a human being. We are all faced with challenges, stress, and pressure in our lives. It's only natural to feel worn out or even a bit sad sometimes.
The good news is that by refocusing your thoughts from your problems to things that you are grateful for, you can instantly feel better.
When you are thankful for what you have, your mood improves and your self-esteem is boosted, along with your health, long-term success, and willpower.
To change how you feel when life gets you down, follow these practices:
1. Make a list of the things you’re grateful for.
Finding things to be grateful for helps you stop thinking negatively. When you're feeling angry, frustrated, or sad, make a list of things you're grateful for. It can help you let go of your current situation and move on.
Gratitude is a powerful tool. Many people use a gratitude journal to note their blessings and cite what's going well in their lives. Over time, you create a powerful record of all the good things that have happened to you.
Take a few moments each morning to think about what is good in your life. Do this to set the tone for the day and focus on what you're grateful for.
Questions are another way to reframe your thoughts. For example, “What’s good about my life right now?” or “What can I appreciate today?” or “Whose love am I grateful for?” I like self-reflection questions that I can ask Holy Spirit. There are three every day in the Live LIGHT Gratitude Journal http://revtrev.link/gratitude
3. See the good in everything.
Negative thoughts can ruin your happiness. It's hard to be positive if you always look at the negative things happening around you. But there are so many great things that exist in the world! A child's laugh, the sunset, and a cool breeze on a hot day. These small things can be just as important as your job and other important aspects of your life. A negativity fast can help you break free of negativity. https://revtrev.com/fast
4. Do nice things for people you don't know.
You can increase your gratitude by doing something kind for someone else. This is a great way to feel more grateful. You can do this by doing a kindness for a stranger or a friend you haven't seen in a while. Do something unexpected and help someone out. They will appreciate it, and you will feel grateful as well!
Do your part in making the world a better place. Make one small act of generosity each day. Look for opportunities to help others. They will be grateful, and you’ll feel good about yourself. Little simple gestures change lives daily.
5. Creatively interact with things you feel grateful for.
Why not take a photo of the things you’re grateful for? It’s not only a great way to express your thankfulness, but it can also spread that positivity to others online.
6. Save a Sunshine File
There are so many ways to express gratitude, but if you're not the kind of person who likes to write down what they're thankful for or write a gratitude journal, try keeping short notes about gratitude in a jar! When you need a pick-me-up, just reach into the jar and read one of the notes. As the year draws to a close or a have a day you need encouragement, reflect on your gratitude notes. They will remind you of all the good things that happened to you throughout the year.
Some days are hard, but if you keep a positive attitude, you'll be able to overcome any obstacles in your way. Practising gratitude on a regular basis is a great tool for keeping a positive attitude, no matter how hard life gets.
7. Consider a Gratitude Challenge
Why not consider a Gratitude Challenge? Learn more and sign up today for the free 5-day Gratitude Challengehttp://revtrev.link/challenge
Gratitude will help bring peace to your life. Check out the ways I can help you grow in gratitude below. In this post I want to focus on affirmations in Gratitude Reflections.
When you affirm your gratitude, you can energize yourself and feel more courage to face the day. Life is filled with friction, but also great adventures. To start your day off right, say out loud all the things you are thankful for with these creative gratitude affirmations.
Affirming your gratefulness helps you recognize that you can have what you most want and need in order to reap the fulfilling life you want. Love, joy, and peace are yours. It's the life you'e been created for.
If you want to feel better about your life, practice affirmations. Affirmations are a quick and easy way to inject positivity into your day. In a few minutes of quiet time, you can set yourself up for a great day. Affirmations remind you of your blessings and abundance, which will push you towards your highest goals.
Gratitude Reflections and Peace
Once you’ve worked affirmations into your morning, you’ll notice that your inner world has more peace.
Peace comes when you trust God with your whole heart. Your heart is the seat of your decisions, the seat of your actions and the seat of your emotions. Reflections remind you of what you choose to believe. Speaking them over can align your actions. Peace is the emotion we feel when we know we're trusting God.
12 Highly Effective Reflections
1. I am grateful for all of my daily blessing. Every good and perfect gift comes from God.
2. I am thankful my needs are generously met by my good Father who knows what I need.
3. I am grateful for all the health, love, and goodness that my Father has entrusted to me.
4. I am continually in awe at how blessed my life is already! He has given me everything I need for life and godliness.
5. I am grateful for everything I have experienced in this lifetime. He is working all things together for good.
6. I am so grateful for everyone God has entrusted to me in my everyday world.
7. I am thankful for everything I have, and I show it by sincerely thanking my loved ones.
8. The God of all hope fills me with all peace and joy as I trust in Him.
9. My life has been bought with a price, I belong to God.
10. I love life. I see the beauty in everything I see.
11. I give thanks for God’s endless blessings.
12. I am grateful for the cloud of witnesses that have gone before.
Spending some time with positive affirmations, while appreciating all that you have and all that’s heading your way is one of the easiest “stress relief drugs” you’ll ever take. Yet, affirmations come with no ill side effects and they’re free. Choose peace in your life by using the power of affirmations and gratitude.
When you’re feeling overwhelmed, take a moment to appreciate everything that’s going right in your life. Don’t let the negative overwhelm the positive. Remember that you have a lot to be thankful for and that you can always use gratitude reflections.
Do you give thanks with your whole heart? Psalm 9:1 I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart. What does that look like when we are facing bad news or a brutal reality? It’s got to mean more than slapping on a smile and having a toxic fake-it-til-you-make-it attitude. Here’s what it means to me.
I’ve got an acrostic to help you remember how you can choose to be thankful with your whole heart.
FAITH
F - Focus
A - Attention
I - Intention
T - Thinking God’s Thoughts
H - Holy Spirit Help
F – Focus – look at what God is doing, not at what is threatening to occur
Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm. Matthew 8:23-26 (New Living Translation)
Don’t deny the reality you’re facing, but use the power of lament to turn your feelings over to God and move on to praise and thanksgiving. Read the Psalms until you get one the FEELS like you do…and pour out your heart to God with it.
Do I use lament to move to thanksgiving?
A – Attention – Keep focused on the right thoughts
And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9 (New Living Translation)
Don’t ignore the reality of what you’re facing, but choose to feel grateful for something in it. Using a gratitude journal can help you train yourself to do this http://revtrev.link/gratitude We need to treat all hardship as discipline knowing our good Father will work all things together for good. We don’t deny the reality we’re facing, but we do think about what we think about.
Do I think about what I think about?
I – Intention – Make plans and follow them through with those plans to change your thinking
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 (New Living Translation)
Psalm 9:1 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. Giving thanks with your whole heart means you make the decision to give thanks; you feel gratitude; and you do something to show your appreciation. When you’re doing that, Holy Spirit transforms you.
Do I give thanks with my whole heart?
T – Thinking God’s Thoughts
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message)
Jesus said, (John 15:3) You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. We can’t expect to have God’s thoughts if his word isn’t in us , living and active like a double-edged sword. One of the best ways his spoken word gets in us is through the written word.
Am I letting the word read me?
H – Holy Spirit Help
But you have received the Holy Spirit, and he lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what he teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as he has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. 1 John 2:27 (New Living Translation)
God empowers you to accomplish every good work prompted by faith. You can’t give thanks with your whole heart without doing it in FAITH.
Do I trust God is working all things together for good?
FAITH
Focus
Attention
Intention
Thinking God’s Thoughts
Holy Spirit help
You see for me, FAITH lets me give thanks with my whole heart. It brings me focus and stops worry.
Gratitude is so important to help us stop the worrying we do. Find out why in this lesson and tool.
Are you someone who worries or maybe you're a recovering worrier? Maybe there's someone in your everyday world who worries and their worries worry you? I know, it gets complicated. It is possible to more-easily STOP the Worry...and gratitude is so important for us to stop our worrying. Learn more and download at http://revtrev.link/free
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)
It starts with knowing you have a good Father who cares for you. Never be so impressed by the size of your problem that you’re not overwhelmed by the love and care of your good Father.
Do I live knowing you care about me?
T - Think about what you think about
Don’t worry about anything.... Philippians 4:6 (NLT)
Don’t try to stop worrying. How can you stop thinking about something by thinking about not thinking about it? All you end up doing is to put condemnation on yourself when you start to worry. Instead learn to take those worries and immediately turn them into breath prayers. If the need more prayer focus, tell them “not now” and get to them when you make time for focussed prayer.
Do I turn worries into breath prayers?
O - Offer your problems for His peace
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.... Philippians 4:6 (NLT)
Keep your worries for your prayer time. If you find yourself worried or fearful in the day, put it off until your prayer time. You can train yourself to put off those thoughts until later.
Do I exchange my problems for your peace?
P - Pledge gratitude in all things
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)
What Happens When We’re Not Thankful? see Romans 1:21 When we’re not thankful we can begin to think up foolish ideas about God...we let our experience become our theology. If we’re not thankful we can start to think up foolish ideas of what God is like and we can’t cast on cares on Him because we don’t believe He cares for us.
Is there a difference between being grateful and feeling grateful? We can choose to be grateful, but is it enough? What if we actually need to feel grateful to see the benefits of gratitude?
If you know me, you know I'm going to tell you we need to give thanks with our WHOLE HEART.
David sings out in Psalm 9:1
I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders.
Remember, the Hebrew understanding of heart is that - yes, it is the seat of our emotions, but it's also the seat of our decisions and the seat of our actions.
These three - our decision, our action and our emotion - need to align in order for us to do anything and everything with our whole heart.
You can start today and do it on your own. You don't need to wait for anyone else to join you. This one comes from different speakers giving Ted talks .
Your 5-day gratitude challenge: 5 exercises to increase your gratefulness
Gratitude benefits us. Showing appreciation to others does as well. Being grateful with our whole heart - when we decide, feel and act on gratitude - allows us experience the benefits that science shows us we have.
It's that time of year when many people begin thinking about everything they have to be thankful for. Although it's nice to count your blessings on Thanksgiving, being thankful throughout the year could have tremendous benefits on your quality of life.
What benefits do we get from gratitude?
Two psychologists, Dr. Robert A. Emmons of the University of California, Davis, and Dr. Michael E. McCullough of the University of Miami, have done much of the research on gratitude. In one study, they asked all participants to write a few sentences each week, focusing on particular topics. (health.harvard.edu)
One group wrote about things they were grateful for that had occurred during the week. A second group wrote about daily irritations or things that had displeased them, and the third wrote about events that had affected them (with no emphasis on them being positive or negative). After 10 weeks, those who wrote about gratitude were more optimistic and felt better about their lives. Surprisingly, they also exercised more and had fewer visits to physicians than those who focused on sources of aggravation.(health.harvard.edu)
Another leading researcher in this field, Dr. Martin E. P. Seligman, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, tested the impact of various positive psychology interventions on 411 people, each compared with a control assignment of writing about early memories. When their week's assignment was to write and personally deliver a letter of gratitude to someone who had never been properly thanked for his or her kindness, participants immediately exhibited a huge increase in happiness scores. This impact was greater than that from any other intervention, with benefits lasting for a month.(health.harvard.edu)
Hebrew understanding of the Heart
Gratitude may be one of the most overlooked tools that we all have access to every day. It isn't just a choice to be grateful, we are told that whatever we do we should do it with our whole heart (Colossians 3:23).
The Hebrew understanding of the heart was that it was not just the seat of our emotions, but also the seat of our decision AND the seat of our action. So I submit that we need to not only choose to be grateful, we need to feel gratitude and act on the gratitude we feel. When we do that, the benefits of gratitude are enormous.
7 benefits of gratitude
1. Being grateful opens the door to more relationships.
According to a 2014 study published in Emotion showing appreciation can help you win new friends. The study has shown for the first time that thanking a new acquaintance for their help makes them more likely to seek an ongoing social relationship with you. Saying "thank you" provides a valuable signal that you are someone with whom a high-quality relationship could be formed.
2. Being grateful improves physical health .
According to a 2012 study published in Personality and Individual Differences grateful people experience fewer aches and pains, and they report feeling healthier than other people. Not surprisingly, grateful people are also more likely to take care of their health. They exercise more often and are more likely to attend regular check-ups with their doctors, which is likely to contribute to further longevity.
4. Being grateful enhances empathy and reduces aggression.
According to a 2012 study by the University of Kentucky gratitude motivates people to express sensitivity and concern for others and stimulates prosocial behaviour. Aggression, defined as intentionally harming another person who is motivated to avoid the harm, runs counter to the motivation to increase others’ welfare and should be reduced among grateful people.
A 2014 study published in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology found that gratitude increased athlete's self-esteem, which is an essential component to optimal performance. Other studies have shown that gratitude reduces social comparisons. Rather than becoming resentful toward people who have more money or better jobs – which is a major factor in reduced self-esteem- grateful people are able to appreciate other people's accomplishments.
Open your eyes to the bounties that grace your world.When you do, you’ll live a more fulfilling life. Allow yourself to feel passion about the colour of the fall leaves, the peacefulness of the snow falling, or the beauty of the blue sky. Notice the feel of a warm coat against your skin or the love in your child’s hug. Maybe you’re even grateful for that first cup of morning coffee.
Get started today on your own gratitude journal. Write about everything that you’re grateful for. As you begin to give thanks, you’ll find your happiness increasing. Look inside and get the Live LIGHT Gratitude Journal http://revtrev.link/gratitude
Feel gratitude in troubling times...here are 5 things you can do.
It's easy to feel grateful when life is good, says Robert Emmons. But when disaster strikes, gratitude is worth the effort.
Robert Emmons | May 13, 2013 Print A decade's worth of research on gratitude has shown me that when life is going well, gratitude allows us to celebrate and magnify the goodness. But what about when life goes badly? In the midst of the economic maelstrom that has gripped our country, I have often been asked if people can or even should feel grateful under such dire circumstances. (greatergood.berkeley.edu)
We're told to give thanks IN all things (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) and that’s most easily done when we are grateful with our whole heart. Our whole heart is our emotions, our intellect and our actions. We choose to be grateful. We FEEL grateful. We DO SOMETHING with our gratitude – even writing in a journal.
BUT we’re also told that we'll give thanks FOR all things when we're continually filled with Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18–21). Aren't you glad the command in that sentence is to be continually filled with Holy Spirit ? The main thought is the command to “be filled”. Greek present imperative tense is used. It has the connotation of a continuous replenishment, an ongoing state of being filled. An awkward translation could be “be being filled” or “keep on being filled.” It's not just an option for us; it's something God commands us to do!
The word translated as 'filled' here is pleonexia which can mean either 'to fill up', 'overflow' or 'abundance'. In this context I think of overflowing abundance because there's no doubt about what Paul was talking about. He wasn't saying that if we have enough food then we should thank God. No, he meant that if we are constantly being flooded by His grace through Christ Jesus, then we will overflow with positive words, singing and praising God, giving thanks always to God the Father FOR everything and submitting to one another.
Five Greek participles are used, and they require a main verb to complete the thought. So continually being filled results in the five participles that follow.
When we are continually being filled by the Spirit we will be…
Speaking to one another with songs and hymns and Spiritual songs.
Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.
Giving thanks always to God the Father for everything.
Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
The command is not to “give thanks always to God the Father FOR everything.” The command is to “Be continuously filled” with Holy Spirit… and then we’ll be...
Speaking to one another with songs and hymns and Spiritual songs.
Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord.
Giving thanks always to God the Father for everything. And
Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
As the German theologian and Lutheran pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, “Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy.” We know that gratitude enhances happiness, but why? Gratitude maximizes happiness in multiple ways, and one reason is that it helps us reframe memories of unpleasant events in a way that decreases their unpleasant emotional impact. This implies that grateful coping entails looking for positive consequences of negative events. For example, grateful coping might involve seeing how a stressful event has shaped who we are today and has prompted us to reevaluate what is really important in life. (greatergood.berkeley.edu)
Times of trouble can make it more difficult for you to find gratitude, but you can still show gratitude despite challenging issues in your life.
If challenging times are affecting your ability to see gratitude, consider these ideas:
1. Be thankful IN everything.
When we have an attitude of gratitude, we can find something to feel grateful for in it. Decide to be thankful IN everything. Remember when we are continually filled by Holy Spirit, He empowers us to give thanks FOR all things. It's not a command but a response to His revelation. Choose to be thanful in everything.
2. FEEL gratitude.
It's not about "fake-it-until-you-make-it". You can't decide to pretend to be grateful. If you say you trust God, but don't feel peace - know you're not trusting God with your whole heart. If you say you're grateful and don't feel gratitude you're practising toxic gratitude and encouraging cognitive dissonance. Stop it! Choose to FEEL grateful.
3. DO something with your gratitude.
You need to put your gratitude into action. You may need to show someone how much you appreciate them. You might want to worship God before your answer comes. What has been scientifically proven to make a difference is writing in a gratitude journal.
4. Consider a Gratitude Journal.
The Live LIGHT Gratitude Journal is designed to help you grow in gratitude and happiness. 70 days of morning and evening reflections will prompt you to feel and act with gratitude. With Holy Spirit's help you'll see Him empower you to accomplish every good work prompted by faith. The Mood Tracker will help you see what's going on with you. The Checkpoint and Milestone will help you see your growth. Use this tool to help live happier and grow in gratitude - you and every one in your every day world will be glad you did.
Do you need to grow in gratefulness, appreciation, joy, and thankfulness? Do you need to stop looking at all that you don’t have and start appreciating all the goodness in your life? GREAT news! In just 5 days, you can grow in gratefulness in ways you never thought possible. This 5-day Course and Community will guide you through simple actions you can take every day that will increase both your gratefulness and happiness. So are you in? It's free! Yes, I’m In! Sign up for the free 5-day Gratitude Challenge http://revtrev.link/challenge
Your ability to find gratitude doesn't have to be limited during challenges. Choose to be thankful in all things. Feel grateful and do something with your gratitude. Remember that you're not alone and that everything changes. Soon, you'll find yourself feeling the gratitude that you seem to have lost.
5 Tools to Help Feel Gratitude Even in Troubling Times
Are you ready to have more gratitude this Thanksgiving? Here are some ways I can help.
Canadian Thanksgiving is this weekend. American Thanksgiving is November 25. We're told to give thanks IN all things (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18) and that’s most easily done when we are grateful with our whole heart. Our whole heart is our emotions, our intellect and our actions. We choose to be grateful. We FEEL grateful. We DO SOMETHING with our gratitude - even writing in a journal.
BUT we’re also told that we'll give thanks FOR all things when we're continually filled with Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18–21).
A gratitude journal can be life transformative. This first edition of the Live LIGHT Gratitude Journal is hot off the presses. I’ll cover the shipping cost for one special person. Learn how to enter below.
The Live LIGHT Gratitude Journal is designed to help you grow in gratitude and happiness. 70 days of morning and evening reflections will prompt you to feel and act with gratitude. With Holy Spirit's help you'll see Him empower you to accomplish every good work prompted by faith. The Mood Tracker will help you see what's going on with you. The Checkpoint and Milestone will help you see your growth. Use this tool to help live happier and grow in gratitude - you and every one in your every day world will be glad you did.
Inside the printed versions you get a coupon for 100% off theLive LIGHT Happier Course that explains why the Live LIGHT Gratitude Journal works. So if you win this Journal you have a surprise bonus of the course included for free.
How to enter to win your copy of the Live LIGHT Gratitude Journal
Enter for the chance to win http://revtrev.link/GIVEAWAY The Live LIGHT Gratitude Journal is designed to help you grow in gratitude and happiness by choosing to wholeheartedly be grateful.
