To Be Creative Means Attitude Of Gratitude
You are thankful. You recognize the benefit that gratitude gives you. You feel a sense of reverence, a sense of connection, or a sense of joy for the people and things that surround you.
You’re ready to go to the next level and develop a grateful way of life. You don’t need to overhaul your attitude. A few simple steps, including learning how to steer clear of negativity, will help you amp up your gratitude attitude.
Change It Up
Prioritizing gratitude through a daily practice such as journaling or creating a list of what you’re grateful for are two effective activities. Unfortunately, our brains adapt and over time the efficacy of your gratitude practice diminishes.
Think back to when you learned a skill like driving. At first, you had to think about which pedal was the brake and which one was the accelerator. You had to learn how far before a stop sign to begin slowing down and the difference between turn signal and the windshield wiper indicators. Over time, you memorize these skills and the control center for these actions moves to a different region of the brain.
Changing your gratitude practice so that it isn’t always the same will actually make it more effective in the long run. For example, whenever we eat at the dining room table as a family, we all take a turn saying the best thing that happened that day and what we’re grateful for.
What You’re Thankful for Matters
In an attempt to understand why materialism undermines the pursuit of happiness, scientists Marsha Richins and Scott Dawson discovered that materialistic people report particularly low levels of gratitude. A related study by Todd Kashdan and William Breen, published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, found that materialistic people experience more negative emotion such as fear and sadness, and less positive emotion.
How can you use this knowledge to give your gratitude practices a boost? Think about the experiences you enjoy. Focus on your adventures, relaxing moments, and connections. By associating your gratitude with experiences and relationships over material things, you ensure your gratitude attitude will continue even when you don’t get that new car, chocolate dessert, or a new pair of shoes.
Be Specific
Phrasing your gratitude in an “I” statement that includes what you are thankful for, why you’re thankful for it, and how it makes you feel is the perfect equation for amping up your gratitude attitude.
Tags: Be Creative
