Thank you, Practicing Gratitude

You hear so often that #gratitude is a practice that you should follow as it is one of the keys to being #successful in life and business. Studies have shown that maintaining a gratitude practice can result in many improvements beyond overall happiness.

The reason behind this, as researched by scientists at UMassd, there is a relationship between our thoughts, brain chemistry, endocrine function and other physiological systems proving that our thoughts can actually trigger changes in our body, thus affecting our mental and physical health.  The benefits can range anywhere from more joy, energy, #determination, stronger immune system, lower blood pressure, acting with more compassion and feeling less lonely.

So now you are convinced you need to do it, how do you start?  The most talked about way is by journaling what you are thankful for each day or a few times a week.  The gratitude list can contain things as simple as being grateful for the weather, your children, health, your job and so on. You can also write a letter to someone you truly wish to thank. The key is to be consistent, journaling daily or weekly.  It is about looking at the glass half full and not half empty and realizing how thankful you are for what you have.  The more gratitude you practice, the more you begin to reap the positive benefits of joy and appreciation for life.

So on a day in which I realize how thankful I am, following are a few gratitude quotes from some of our great leaders. 
“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”  G.K. Chesterton

“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”  Eckhart Tolle

“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”  Marcel Proust

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” Epicurus

“True forgiveness is when you can say, "Thank you for that experience.” Oprah Winfrey

“If the only prayer you said was thank you that would be enough.” Meister Eckhart

Let me know if you have a #gratitude journal and how it makes you feel and the benefits you experience.
Thank you to my readers!

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