Hello friend! đ
Summer is approaching (or already here đ„”) and the exciting time of planning vacations is upon us.
While we do this, it is important to remember that gratitude can help supercharge our experiences. We feel good in anticipation, during, and long after the events have passed. In fact - gratitude is being shown as one of the top 5 contributors to life satisfaction (along with zest, hope, curiosity, and love).
So todayâs post is about celebrating life and bringing more of this practice to our daily life.
Letâs dive straight in!
What you appreciate, appreciates
One of the most impactful realizations Iâve had in the past few years is exactly what the title states.
When I appreciate something, it appreciates. The value of things we have in our lives is super subjective, and the act of gratitude adds more value to whatever we are appreciating.
Our deepest desire is to act in line with who we believe we are.
This means, the things and attitudes that we value about ourselves are indeed very valuable to us, and we have an intrinsic motivation toward making them more valuable.
Science also shows that if you practice the 3 Good Things exercise for 6 weeks (listing 3 good things that happened to you during the day and specifically stating what was your role in making them happen) can increase happiness over a period of 6 months!
Now imagine you practice this for 6 months instead of 6 weeks (or 6 years, or decadesâŠ.) đ€Ż
Life application
Maintain a simple gratitude journal that helps you reflect on the good things that happened during the day.
This is best done at the end of each day as a wrap-up for the day and a perfect bed-time routine for a bonus of a more relaxed and nourishing sleep.
Take as granted, not for granted
There are many things in life we take for granted.
I do not want to sound too simplistic but, as an example, almost everyone takes their heartbeat for granted. We donât have to do any work to run this magnificent process of life, and so we tend to forget the profound importance of it.
We do the same with breathing, financial security, love, work, etcâŠ
The absolute sure way of realizing the value of something is by losing it. But it is not the only way. If done properly, a consistent practice of gratitude can allow us to take things as granted and significantly improve our lives.
How?
Well the point is quite simple here; we naturally tend to âneglectâ or ânot worryâ about that we take for granted. Sometimes this doesnât create harm until the loss is experienced. But, in other times, like in the case of being in a relationship and taking the partnerâs love for granted, the neglect that arises from that is itself the basis of creating the loss.
Therefore, practicing gratitude can prevent the loss and significantly improve our life satisfaction.
More often than not we mistake someoneâs âdesire to play a roleâ with being an âobligation to play that roleâ. These expectations are a recipe for disaster and the cancer damaging any healthy relationship.
Life application
In your daily reflection of the 3 Good Things exercise, see if you can recognize peopleâs effort youâve taken for granted and instead choose to take them as granted.
You can teach your brain to notice this by actually thanking the person for their act or care, and genuinely state how you take it as granted and not for granted (using your own words to express that).
Bring a fresh eye of appreciation
Saving the best for last.
Do you know about Maslowâs hierarchy of needs (which btw was never in a triangle that somehow indicates that the needs come in sequences) included different qualities of a self-actualized person. This includes having a continued fresh appreciation.
According to Maslow, truly self-actualized persons are able to appreciate experiences no matter how mundane they are.
Due to this fresh attitude they are able to notice and make creative connections and problem solving strategies. Therefore, we can maintain a similar attitude by showing appreciation for the basic and most automatic processes in our lives.
Celebrating life, and doing so fully, is the secret behind a more satisfactory life and experience.
No matter how small the act is, an single act of celebration is a vote towards building trust with yourself.
AND
Building trust is the basis of building confidence in oneâs self.
Life application
For your next win, no matter how small it is, take time out to truly celebrate your win.
This can be completing a task youâve put off for a while, or simply doing what you said you will do (exercise, read, make a call, etc..)
For an added benefit you can think of a specific mantra that sums up the celebration (âTHATâS LIKE ME!â, for example) to help build reward for the behavior and establish it as a habit.
With this we come to the end of todayâs post.
Bring more celebration to your life to supercharge your experience.
Have a Super Sunday! đȘ
With much joy,
Hashim
Whenever youâre ready, here are 2 more ways I can help you:
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Writing what we are grateful for everyday is my favorite exercise. I also trains the brain to notice the simplest positive things that we usually donât notice! Thank you, it was a beautiful read as usual