hey psych2goers have you been feeling a
little stuck lately
it's completely understandable if you
are
it seems like taking care of our mental
health has never been harder than in the
last few years
in times like these you may wish you had
some magical powers to bring some light
into your life but would you believe us
if we told you that you do have those
powers in you
it takes the form of a small simple
habit that could change your life
forever
it's called
gratitude
and if you keep watching you'll see why
it's a magical power
so what is gratitude
gratitude is an emotion that involves
being thankful and appreciative of
things that surround you it stems from
the recognition that something good
happens to you you can be grateful for
experiences that happen things that you
own people that are in your life and so
on
by being grateful for something you're
actively acknowledging the good in your
life
this is sometimes hard for many people
because we often get overwhelmed with
the challenges that life puts in front
of us
we get blinded by our negative emotions
and fail to see the positive side of
life
by practicing gratitude you are able to
make a much needed shift from that
negativity it may seem like you have to
suppress your worries to be grateful but
that's not the case at all a healthy
mind recognizes and accepts the
struggles but it doesn't make the
struggles it's home
in other words by being grateful you're
able to achieve more balance and make
the good more important to you
so how does it work
let's take a dive into your brain for a
moment while looking at a simple analogy
try to remember a route that you're
often taking
it could be a path from your home to
school or work for example
the first few times you took that route
everything was new and unfamiliar
but as time went by and you learned the
way you started moving almost
automatically
you didn't have to think about
directions or landmarks you just went
straight ahead and in no time you
reached your destination
your brain also has pathways that go
from point a to point b these points
represent different brain structures
that are in charge of different
functions of your thoughts emotions and
behavior
when you think about something often you
are walking a certain pathway again and
again and your brain is getting familiar
with the route of that thought
at the same time when you want to shift
your way of thinking your brain faces
some problems because it doesn't spend
much time traveling those routes
if you spend too much time thinking
negative thoughts your brain becomes
very good at taking you to negative
places because it's learned that route
very efficiently
but if you decide to make a change and
try to go on a different positive path
you're helping your brain learn that new
route those new rats take you to certain
brain structures that are responsible
for positive thoughts and that's how
gratitude works when you make it a habit
to shift your point of view you will be
more likely to go to those positive
places when things get hard because your
brain will take you there on its own
number three what are the benefits of
gratitude
when you're grateful you're
acknowledging someone's act as
meaningful
you're thanking the other person for
whatever you're receiving from them
this helps your relationship flourish
and it strengthens your connections with
the people around you it can also show
others that you're not the one to take
things for granted on top of that
researchers have found many physical and
emotional benefits of gratitude it's
been shown that being grateful is
associated with better physical health
life satisfaction hope and personal
growth self-esteem quality of sleep
happiness and well-being
so how do i make it a habit
well it's been said that it takes 21
days to form a habit so starting today
and for the next 21 days try keeping a
gratitude journal
of course you could just spend some time
every day thinking about it but writing
it down could ensure you don't forget to
do it and you'll have it all in one
place to re-read when you feel like you
need to
every night before you go to sleep or
whichever time of day you feel like it
take out your journal and write down
three things that you're grateful for
some days you'll have a bunch to write
about and some days you may find it hard
you may think this day was horrible how
do i find anything to be grateful for
but that's exactly the point there's
always something to be grateful for no
matter how bad our days get
are you grateful to have a roof above
your head
are you grateful for the clothes that
keep you warm
are you grateful to have access to the
internet
as we said before it's not about
ignoring the real struggles of our lives
you are allowed to have a bad day or
feel sad
but the world is not strictly black or
white
and your gratitude journal is here to
remind you that there's a spark of light
even on rainy days
you just have to be open to see it
so do you think you'll try out this
simple habit
expressing gratitude and reminding
yourself of the good is something small
that will work wonders if you're
consistent with it so what's something
you're grateful for leave a comment to
share with other viewers and the
psych2go team
did you enjoy this video if so don't
forget to leave a like and a comment
about your own experiences share this
video with a friend if you think it'll
help them too as usual all references
used are in the description that's it
for now see you soon