Gratitude can be defined as a feeling or expression of appreciation for something you have received or experienced. Being thankful for the blessings and kindness you have been afforded in each present moment. Gratitude can become a natural and intentional part of your life. Being grateful for what you do already have, will allow you to fully enjoy the present and enjoy the process of creating whatever else you wish for. The process of intentional repetition of the practice of gratitude over a long time creates new neurological pathways which can allow gratefulness to become your natural state of being. Within this article, we shall first explore some of the beneficial impacts of practicing long term gratitude followed by some simple and powerful suggestions that you can choose from to apply gratitude as a long term practice.
Impacts of Practicing Long Term Gratitude
The power of gratitude on mental, physical and emotional health is a well-known fact. The impact of practicing gratitude long term will yield lasting and tangible benefits. These are some of the impacts of long term gratitude:
- Presence
Practicing long term gratitude will grant you the gift of presence. When you are actively finding things to be thankful and appreciative for you will be focused in the present, even if you are reflecting upon things in the past that you are grateful for, gratitude will root you into the present moment and its blessings.
- Sacredness
When you are consistently grateful for all that you have you will begin to treat what you have as scared, being grateful for your material objects, physical body, mind, nature, energy and emotions. You will begin feeling how life is special and filled with god/source given gifts.
- Trusting the Flow of Life
Practicing long term gratitude can teach you to trust the flow of life, as over time you will realize how things always work out for the best and you will always have many things to be grateful for.
- Manifesting with Ease
Practicing gratitude is a great way to align your energy and emotions in a way that will allow you to manifest experiences and things that you desire. The vibration of gratitude is a strong attraction point for easily creating more to be grateful for.
- Relationships will Improve
When you practice gratitude long term all your relationships will improve as you will actively be looking for things to appreciate about the people around you. When you see those around you as precious and are thankful for what they are and what they do, they will likely respond well to your appreciation. When you are grateful for the people close to you they will feel seen, be happier, enjoy spending time with you and most likely they will join in and be grateful for you too.
- Experiencing Contentment
Gratitude is a perfect remedy for dissatisfaction, when you practice long term gratitude you are likely to experience contentment. Being and at peace and happy with what you have in each present moment. Intentional gratitude is a great reminder that we always have what we need in perfect timing and that even in challenging times there will always be a blessing or lesson to be grateful for if we consciously seek out and appreciate our blessings.
Ways to Intentionally Practice Gratitude
Repetition and consistency are the keys to forming a new habit and experiencing the full benefits of any practice. Applying gratitude as a daily practice in a way that works for you will allow gratefulness to become an innate part of who you are. We shall now suggest some simple and effective ways that you can implement gratitude as an intentional long term practice:
- Morning Practice and Evening Practice
It can be helpful to set aside a specific time to do your gratitude practices as this will make it more likely that it will become part of your routine. Practicing gratitude first thing in the morning is a great way to align your energy and mental state for a great day ahead. Practicing gratitude to end off the day is a great way to reflect positively, have an effective rest and wakeup excited for the new day. Of course, you can practice gratitude at any time of the day; it is actually a powerful way to switch your mood around if you are feeling down.
- Gratitude Meditation
Another intentional way to practice gratitude is by applying it to your daily meditation. You can simply take some time within your meditation to pay attention to and feel all that you are grateful for. If you are new to meditation or just enjoy being guided there are many guided meditations that can be found online specifically for cultivating gratitude.
- Gratitude Journal
This can take the form of a dedicated gratitude journal or a section within your daily journal or day planner. Take time each day to write a list of all that you are grateful for. Writing is a great way to become present with just how many blessings you have. When you look back through your journal you will see pages upon pages of long lists to be grateful for. You will also see how overtime practicing this will result in your lists getting longer
- Verbally Expressing Gratitude
A simple and effective way to include gratitude in your daily life is to make it a habit of verbally expressing that you are grateful in the moment that you think of, or experience something you are grateful for. You can express gratitude directly to the object/person that you are grateful for. You can intentionally bring more presence to every time you say thank you and say it with full meaning and presence.
- Mind, Body, Soul Gratitude Practice
An enjoyable daily practice that you can choose to do is a mind, body, soul gratitude practice. You can intentionally take some time aside to observe your current state of being and find things to be grateful for in each category; what are you grateful for about your mental state?, what are you grateful for about your body? And what are you grateful for with regards your spirit? This practice is an awesome way to cultivate self-love and feel the healing and energizing power of gratitude.
Reading about the amazing effects of practicing long term gratitude is inspiring but putting this knowledge into practice will be genuinely life-changing. To intentionally decide to embody the energy of gratitude is such a simple and empowering decision, it a decision that will improve your quality of life, your relationships on an inner and outer level and your ability to joyously create the life you wish to live. Gratitude is a form of magic that you can master with ease, enjoyment and commitment.
__Written by Music Of Wisdom team
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