Well-Being Wednesday: Garnering Gratitude

Happy Wednesday! While we are firmly in the dark winter months (shoutout Punxsutawney Phil), there has lately been a little hint of change on the horizon. While many good things can come with the winter season, the longer light has got us feeling a little grateful this week, so we figured it was a good time to focus strategies for garnering more gratitude in our lives!

For millennia, people have been searching for answers to what makes a life well-lived. While it may seem like a Hallmark card, research is pointing to gratitude as a key ingredient to reducing stress and anxiety while promoting well-being and overall success (sounds a little too easy, right?).??

Simply put, gratitude is the recognition that there are good things in our lives, and the source of this goodness is often outside of ourselves. We acknowledge that other people, or things, have given us something that contributes to our happiness.?

Gratitude has been shown to positively benefit our individual mental health in the following ways:?

• Higher levels of positive emotions, like happiness and pleasure
• More optimism
• Lower levels of stress, depression, anxiety
• Less likely to experience burnout
• Increased life satisfaction

Here are two ways to weave gratitude into your daily life and garner these stress busting benefits.

1. Three good things - Each day, write down three things that went well for you. To push a bit further, think about why those things were significant. Keep a physical record rather than doing this exercise solely in your head. Looking at a growing list leads to exponential gains. (Expert tip: looking at this list when feeling down can also give you a great pick-me-up in times of need).?
2. Gratitude “visit” - Call to mind someone who you are extremely grateful for, but whom you may not have expressed gratitude for (or at least lately). This could be a relative, friend, teacher, mentor or colleague.?No act of kindness or support is too big or small to recognize. Pick someone who you can actually contact and do the following:

???Take this a step further and share your gratitude by:?

• Reaching out to this person via a phone call, text, letter, carrier pigeon, you name it.?
• Describe in specific terms what they did, why you are grateful to them, and how their behavior or support affected your life. Try to be as concrete as possible.
• Share a life update and how you often remember their efforts.

Love this idea and want to do more? You can deliver this note in-person and make it a?little friend/mentor-date. Science says sharing your appreciation furthers the happiness impact for you and for your recipient. Give it a try!

As always, be well & thrive.

For more information on our work, visit YOUatCollege.com.