Gratitude changes everything
Gratitude changes everything
Gratitude changes everything
“If one more person appreciates me, I quit! If I get one more compliment, I’m done!”, said no one, ever. Gratitude has been found to be the #1 predictor of well-being and a strong determinant of resilience.
Resilient people proactively cultivate positive emotions like humor, gratitude and optimism. You don’t even have to find anything to be grateful for. The simple act of looking for the positive decreases the stress hormone cortisol by 23%. Just looking for something to appreciate increases serotonin and dopamine, the feel-good neurochemicals in most antidepressants.
Gratitude affects your brain at a neurological level. A gratitude practice has a positive impact on: sleep, mood, alertness, physical risk markers for future disease, happiness, better financial decision making, problem solving, optimism, productivity, and goal orientation. People who practice gratitude are perceived as more likeable, have fewer aches and pains, have increased self esteem, and make friends more easily. Practicing gratitude lowers stress, enhances empathy, lowers your risk of cancer, high blood pressure, and diabetes, and it improves your immune system and cardiovascular health.
Gratitude has been found to be the #1 predictor of well-being and a strong determinant of resilience.
Still not convinced?
When we have a negative experience, it encodes itself into our neural structure immediately. Your brain doesn’t give the same weight to positive experiences because they don’t have an immediate impact on your survival.
Our brain has a negativity bias, causing it to constantly scan the environment for what’s wrong. Mind Over Moment is a way to help it find the things that are right. In order to offset negativity bias, when you have a great moment (I call it a delicious moment), savor it. Savoring is the ability to step outside of the moment to truly appreciate it.
You can encode positive experiences and retrain the brain by sitting in a positive experience for 15-20 seconds. Really soak in that beautiful moment, appreciate it, and relish the feeling. You have to deliberately sustain and internalize positive emotions to transfer them from short-term memory to long-term storage. You can’t just have the experience. You have to install it.
There is literally no downside to practicing gratitude.
- Journaling for 5 minutes a day about what you are grateful for can enhance long-term happiness by 10%.
- Write a letter, send a text or email thanking someone. Give a compliment.
- Create a gratitude jar, or simply recount the best parts of your day when you fall asleep at night. We are so busy in our constant search for happy that we forget happiness isn’t a trait, it’s a skill.
You have the power to change your brain and your life. I am incredibly grateful for you! Thank you for inviting me to be a part of your week.
Stay brave and resilient,
Anne
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Anne breaks down the daily habits and skills needed to grow and cultivate RESILIENCE.
#WednesdayWisdom from @mrdavehollis. I'm really excited to check out his new book #BuiltThroughCourage.
The main difference between those who courageously act and those who stay stuck amounts to how we view fear. Courage is not the absence of fear. Courage is being afraid and working through the discomfort. Courage means you allow challenge and adversity to be a catalyst to help you grow strong enough to face whatever life throws at you.
What types of courage come easily for you? Which ones are more difficult? And what blocks you from behaving courageously in the circumstances you face? 💪 #wednesdaywisdom #courage #resilience #fearasfuel #reframefear #mindset #personaldevelopment
YOU GOT THIS.
As research for my book "Mind Over Moment: Harness the Power of Resilience", I spent a lot of time learning what helps develop and maintain resilience and have boiled it down to three main areas: Your mindset, skillset, and your ability to reset.
But just like anything else, knowing what builds resilience isn’t enough. You have to actively practice these skills. In this month's blog, I'm showing you how. Link in my bio! 👆 #resilience #mindset #mindfulness #mindovermoment #blog #skillset #reset #habits #personalgrowth #personaldevelopment #youareasurvivor💪
Happiness is a skill.
If you aren’t feeling very happy, satisfied, or content, look for blips of happiness. If you’re feeling angry, frustrated, or overwhelmed, look for blips of relief and realize that this too shall pass. No one is always happy or never happy. Happiness, just like sadness, and just about every other emotion happens in little blips. We get to choose which blips we focus on. #mindfulmonday #mindfulness #reslience #happiness #optimism #deliciousmoments #emotionalgrowth #personaldevelopment #mindset
What if you could break free from reactivity with a reset—a chance once and for all to define the life you want and create a path to get there, all while building resilience along the way? You can.
It’s time to delve into your automatic thought patterns, belief systems and daily habits to identify which ones are serving you. Resilience is built by deliberately cultivating productive beliefs, behaviors, and habits to intentionally break out of reactivity and live purposefully. If you have found yourself stuck in reactivity either before this pandemic or during it, remember to reset, practice #MindOverMoment, and purposefully build the life you deserve. It’s about what you do starting now that matters. #resilience #mindfulness #authorsofinstagram #booklaunchanniversary #breakout #liveonpurpose #habits #personalgrowth #reset #grow
Can a dog help you build resilience? 🐶
I have always been a dog lover, and as the mom of two fur babies of my own (I call them my therapy dogs), I thought the answer to this question was a no-brainer. It turns out that yes, dogs can improve our resilience and well-being IF we, the dog owners, raise them correctly.
Here are 5 ways Fido can improve your well-being:
1️⃣ Exercise
Dogs like walks, and it turns out that walks are good for people too.
2️⃣ Mindfulness
Dogs are naturally curious, sniffing and exploring their environment, 100% present in whatever they are doing. And when your dog licks your face to wake you up, puts his/her head on your lap, or nudges you to pet him/her, you are snapped back to the present moment.
3️⃣ Social Connection
Dogs are the best icebreakers. "Oh, your dog is so cute! What type of dog is it?" Aside from being a great pick up line, dogs create social connection.
4️⃣ Training
I love my dogs (an unhealthy amount), but they are horribly trained. Both dogs have trained me instead of the other way around. If you have a dog that is well-behaved, calm, and enjoyable to be around, they are likely to positively impact your well-being.
5️⃣ Purpose
Dogs give us a sense of purpose and an incredible opportunity to practice empathy. Our pups need us to feed them, walk them, spend time with them, and give them love.
Look for a longer post about how dogs can help us build resilience later this week on LinkedIn. Share a pic of your pup with me in the comments! 👇👇 #resilience #reset #mindfulness #mindovermoment #dogs #dogsofinstagram #dogmom #pets #therapydogs
Don’t neglect what brings you joy.
Sometimes it is easier said than done when you’re in the middle of it, but choosing optimism means you are deliberate about the way you interpret the adversity in your life.
Every situation, especially the difficult ones, provides an opportunity to challenge our self-defeating, negative thoughts. And this isn’t just fluff. Scientific research has proven that when you look at life through a lens of positivity, you are more likely to enjoy better mental and physical health. #mindfulmonday #mindfulness #resilience #optimism #choosejoy #protectyourpeace #mindovermoment #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters
Anne Grady is a Speaker, Author, and #TruthBomb Dropper.
Anne shares practical strategies that can be applied both personally and professionally to improve relationships, navigate change, and triumph over adversity. And she’ll make you laugh while she does it. Anne is a two time TEDx speaker, and her work has been featured in numerous media outlets, including Harvard Business Review, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Fast Company and Inc. magazines, CNN, ESPN, and FOX Business. She is the best selling author of 52 Strategies for Life, Love & Work and Strong Enough: Choosing Courage, Resilience and Triumph.