In our previous blog, we shared how important gratitude is for everyday life and how it raises the quality and perspective of what we see and who we are. So how do we form healthy habits of gratitude that stick? To be honest with you, there is no easy way to develop gratitude as a habit. It’s about being intentional. Just like all habits in our lives, it’s something that either naturally forms based on factors in our environments or they are intentionally chosen daily because of the desire for a certain outcome.
Whether we are hitting the gym, reading that book, or preparing that healthy meal, all these activities are a part of forging a healthier and more holistic physical person. Given that we are whole people, being physically healthy contributes greatly to our mental health. But just because clients are physically in top shape, they can still be emotionally and mentally out of shape. Why does this occur? It’s as simple as understanding that we are more than our physical bodies. We have an inner life that is ruled by very similar principles such as needing attention, love, affection, understanding, and validation. This “psychological” part of who we are is where the lenses of our heart interpret our physical reality. So developing gratitude as a habit is almost like going to the gym, taking that yoga class, or eating a healthy meal. It not only benefits our mental health but allows us to tap into creativity and optimal decision-making like never before.
Many times, when we think about creating a new discipline, we tend to think of the process as going from point A to point B. If things were really that simple, all of us would be skinny, rich, and happy. The reality is that forming healthy habits is not that simple. Why? Because we are often more psychologically complex than we let ourselves believe. Before committing to any specific habit, we need to know where to start. Instead of starting with motivation (which is super important), consider calculating the cost of developing ourselves and how much it will benefit me in the long run. When we take a perspective of investing in ourselves, we can gain a broader perspective of a greater future where investing A right now can take me to Z. Ultimately the Z is the man or woman you would be proud to be and see in the future.
We can also understand gratitude as a type of discipline. To understand how discipline works, we have to understand our values. When we can identify the deep-rooted values that we truly believe in and are willing to live by and die for, then we can hack the way our brains and behaviors work by anchoring those values with optimal habits using discipline.
In our next blog, we’ll talk about the 3 things that keep us from optimizing gratitude as an essential habit in our lives.
