How Gratitude Transforms Your Health
Transform your mindset and well-being with gratitude! Learn simple practices to redirect subconscious thoughts and boost your mental and physical health.
You have about 6,000 thoughts per day.
Most of those thoughts are subconscious, so you aren’t even aware you have them.
So imagine this—thoughts you are unaware you are having become emotions, and those emotions become feelings.
Your body houses those feelings and stores them because even if you do have an intentional practice to release emotions from your body, you won’t know to do that here because they grew from a subconscious thought.
You may not even realize these emotions are being stored in your body until they pile up on one another over time and manifest as physical symptoms.
Guess what helps us transform our subconscious thoughts in case they aren’t rooted in our most fruitful narratives.
Gratitude.
“Research shows that practicing gratitude — 15 minutes a day, five days a week — for at least six weeks can enhance mental wellness and possibly promote a lasting change in perspective. Gratitude and its mental health benefits can also positively affect your physical health.”—UCLA Health.
A consistent gratitude practice is a beautiful, accessible, and scientifically proven way to subconsciously redirect your awareness and thoughts to a “what if everything goes right” perspective.
This change in your perspective is a change in your subconscious that transforms those narratives that don’t serve you, creating new thought patterns that do, and your thoughts—emotions—feelings—and body connection transform.
Beautiful ways to practice gratitude:
Keep a Gratitude Journal
I find it helpful to sit down in the morning and begin the day with gratitude. Do I do this every day? No. I fall out of practice here and there. But let me tell you, when I am in the swing of it; I immediately feel the power of it.
I sit down and usually plan to write 2 to 3 things I’m grateful for and why, and when I am writing, I tap into the feelings of gratitude. I bring those emotions and feelings into my body, making it a full experience and compounding the practice.
More often than not, 2 to 3 things morph into a running list because gratitude is contagious, especially within ourselves.
Find one reason daily to tell someone why you are grateful for them or something you are grateful for in general.
For me, expressing gratitude to another person is energetic alignment and agreement, which is a powerful practice within itself. When we can bring someone else’s beautiful energy into what we are doing, bring them joy, or help them to be seen, the energy flows and grows beautifully.
Try it; randomly express your gratitude for someone to them, and be specific about what it is and how it makes you feel. Watch them bloom and experience the same feeling.
Keep a Gratitude Jar
I use my gratitude jar when I’m not fully into my journaling practice or even when I am. At the top of the stairs to the main living area of my home, I have a glass jar with pieces of paper and a pen next to it. When I experience a moment of gratitude, I write it on my paper, date it, fold it, and place it in the jar.
It is an accessible way for me to practice my gratitude and also so beautiful, powerful, and encouraging to see the jar fill up with all the wonderful blessings I’m experiencing in my life.
Celebrate Even the Smallest Accomplishments in Your Life
Did you say you were going to work out today, and you did? Take a moment and celebrate you did what you said you would do for yourself!
Did you handle something better today than you would have months ago? Take a moment to celebrate your progress!
Did you make a tough choice that aligns with the healthy life you want to live? CELEBRATE THAT!
If you have a trusted and safe person who wishes you all the best and will celebrate every success with you, start celebrating your small things with them and watch the magic happen in your life, theirs, and your relationship. Gratitude is contagious in all the best ways.
Summary:
Gratitude transforms your health, starting with your subconscious thought
Find what gratitude practice works best and feels best for you.
Gratitude is contagious! Share with others!
LISTEN TO: Your Gratitude-Focused Guided Meditation
READ: How to Listen To Your Body & Honor What It Needs—Learn how to truly listen to your body and honor its messages. Discover practical tips for slowing down, seeking stillness, and tuning into your body’s language.
READ: November in The Haven
We hope November in The Haven served you well and brought you valuable tools and perspective to support you on your health & healing journey.
See you here again next month!
