The Effects and Powers of Gratitude on Physical, Mental and Emotional Well-being

Did you know that we tend to perceive the negative before the positive? This is called negative bias. Indeed, our brain will always tend to remember more negative moments than positive ones, and this is in general and on a daily basis as well. Gratitude therefore allows us to neutralize this negative bias as much as possible.

It has been proven by neuroscience that practicing gratitude is directly related to good physical, mental and emotional health.

The daily practice of gratitude allows us to somehow reconcile ourselves with life. It helps us to direct our attention to happy elements, and therefore, it somehow diverts our attention from the less joyful elements and the things that we might feel we miss in our life.

Over the past ten years, several researchers have worked to create a roadmap or guide related to the search for happiness. According to their studies, they suggest that 40% of our happiness is determined by our daily activities and not by our genes or other factors in our environment, as was once thought.

In addition, people who regularly practice gratitude take better care of themselves, sleep better and are less often ill. So why not join and try it out?

But what is gratitude? What is its definition? Gratitude is more than just a form of politeness, it is a recognition for a service or a blessing received or simply a recognition of life for all the good that happens to us.

The goal of gratitude is to be happy with what you have and to become aware of it, instead of always wanting more and never being satisfied.

There is also a chain reaction effect. In fact by expressing your gratitude around you, you will create a circle of gratitude and you will find that, little by little, your entourage will become even more kind to you and the opportunities to be grateful will multiply in turn.

One of the easiest ways to take the time to express gratitude is to keep a gratitude diary. Every day, there are many elements in our lives for which we can feel gratitude. This diary allows us to follow up and become aware of our gratitude, while giving ourselves a special moment in our day just for us.

Of course, there are many ways to express gratitude, it is important that you find the way to express it that suits you best.

Here are some known benefits of expressing gratitude, to name a few:

The effects of positive emotions on physical health

·       Improve the functioning of the immune system (Emmons - McCullough, 2003)

·       Reduce the deleterious effects of stress (Fredrickson)

The Effects of Positive Emotions on Mental Health

·       Reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms 

·       Improve life satisfaction (Emmons - McCullough, 2003)

·       Long-term effects through better problem-solving capacity (Fredrickson, 2001)

Practicing gratitude at work

At work, gratitude certainly contributes to well-being, motivation, team spirit and trust and loyalty in business relationships.

When you show your appreciation, you feel better. Offering gratitude and having gratitude even allows you to become happier and make people happy. In addition, several studies show that dayly gratitude contributes to better health for you, and also for those you recognize.

If you appreciate a colleague's gesture and offer recognition in return, you will feel better and make people happy!

It can definitely be said that gratitude has exponential benefits, not only do you help yourself, but you also help others and help improve your health by the same tot. Isn't that wonderful!

Here are some ways to express gratitude in your office:

1. Say "Thank you"
2. Give compliments
3. Send notes or nice messages to your colleagues
4. Express your gratitude in public, in meetings, in front of others
5. Reward your employees or co-workers with a treat or activity
6. Give your time
7. Show or express your trust to your employees or colleagues
8. Adopt a culture of gratitude

With all these good tips, you are now ready to express your gratitude and share happiness around you! Good practice of gratitude to all!

For information about our courses and services, or to organize workshops or activities at your offices, please contact us:
info@zenetcie.ca/ zenetcie.ca / 514-277-7905.