How Practicing Gratitude for as Little as 5 Minutes a Day can Improve Your Health and Wellbeing

gratitude (noun): the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

It wasn't until we packed up our lives and moved from one side of the world to the other that I truly appreciated the benefits of gratitude. I'd toyed with it in the past, but I hadn't yet felt the long lasting effects that consistent gratitude brings with it.

Studies now show that:

?? as little as 5 minutes of gratitude a day can lead to a 10% increase in long-term wellbeing (which is apparently equivalent to doubling your income!)

?? a 10% increase in gratitude can increase your social capital by 17.5% - like deepening existing friendships, improving romantic relationships, developing new friendships, becoming more trusting and likeable!

?? There are numerous health benefits attributed to practicing gratitude, including decreased systolic blood pressure, reduced depressive symptoms and increased sleep quality (amongst other things!)

?? Gratitude influences our personalities, with an increase in gratitude making us more optimistic, less self-centred, more spiritual, less materialistic and increasing our self-esteem.

So what are the best ways to practice gratitude? 

I hear a lot about keeping gratitude journals, or writing on slips of paper to keep in a jar to be read on Thanksgiving or New Year's Eve, but personally, I've found it as simple as slowing down, and taking stock of my surroundings. 

I celebrate the small wins, the little victories. I stop and take photos of the mountains in every season and I particularly enjoy the flowers blossoming when I'm out walking in Spring. I revel in the random moments when my heart is full to bursting as I'm reminded that I am so lucky to be on this journey with my husband and my children, that we are together in a beautiful place experiencing new adventures together.

I'm also grateful to receive photos from clients when they are enjoying their own moments of thankfulness and want to share their wins. I received a photo last week from Switzerland, along with a message about the bliss of drinking wine with friends in the clean, crisp Alpine air while listening to the sounds of the river and a waterfall. Messages like this fill my heart with so much joy when only 6 weeks earlier my client had been teetering on the edge of cancelling the holiday altogether.

The magic of gratitude is that in finding the small things that you are thankful for, you find the strength and resilience to overcome unexpected hurdles and setbacks along the way. Challenges are still challenging, but they become less overwhelming, because all your blessings pile up and make the previously impassable mountain nothing more than a speed bump along the way.

Gratitude reminds us that happiness is not a destination, it is an intrinsic part of the journey. Slow down. Take stock. Keep a journal, take a photo, use affirmations, do whatever it is that works for you. Just remember to count your blessings - you'll discover that you are, infact, incredibly blessed.

So tell me, what are you grateful for today?