We talk about gratitude a lot at Blue Door. It’s even plastered in extra large font on the top of our homepage. There’s a reason for that. We firmly believe it’s one of the most powerful exercises you can do for your mental fitness and overall wellbeing.
Yet it’s something most of us aren’t doing…or at least aren’t doing enough.
We totally get it. We experience what we like to call gratitude fatigue from time to time.
Even though we know how profound the benefits are, it can feel like a real chore to actively cultivate feelings of gratitude.
So today we’re going to layout those benefits once more, and dive into how we can switch up our gratitude practice to make it simple, fresh, and effective.
An Innate Superpower
Out of all the ways we can influence our mood and change our mindset, gratitude may be the most powerful.
As humans, we all have something called a negativity bias.
Basically, our brains are hardwired to see and dwell on the negative aspects of our experience. Back in the day, it helped keep us alive. Now, it’s more of an inconvenience.
Gratitude is a powerful antidote to our negativity bias. Practicing it regularly physically changes the structure of our brains in a way that makes us happier, calmer, and more optimistic.
But check this; it doesn’t stop there, not even close.
Practicing gratitude has been shown to improve our sleep, relationships, immune system, dopamine and serotonin levels, and our heart health.
It’s one of the most powerful things we can do on a daily basis to improve our overall quality of life.
The “Write” Way to Practice
It’s quite clear that practicing gratitude makes you happier and healthier.
So, how do you overcome gratitude fatigue and find a habit that really sticks?
First off, you want to make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck with any exercise you do.
When it comes to cultivating gratitude, the best way seems to be with pen and paper. When you write things down you uncover personal insights about yourself that you otherwise wouldn’t.
It forces you to think and organize your thoughts in a different way. Writing also helps to create discipline and a long-lasting habit.
One important thing to note here is the dividends are in the details.
If you simply write a long list of things you are grateful for, not only will the practice not stick, but you won’t get the full range of benefits. This is also very boring after a while AKA gratitude fatigue!
Take it from the experts. Researchers at USC found that one method, in particular, worked best for developing a long-lasting and beneficial gratitude practice.
We lay it out for you step-by-step right here.