Gratitude can be a game changer. It helps train your brain to notice and appreciate the little things in life and, in doing so, shifts your life experience tremendously. Gratitude can increase your happiness and wellbeing, life satisfaction.

Practicing gratitude is something I have intentionally decided to work on in 2024 and it’s been the best thing for my mental health.

When you’re in mental chaos, focusing on the good things is challenging. Unfortunately, we quickly let the negative aspects linger for too long, allowing it to ruin our whole day when there’s so much to be thankful for. That’s one of the hardest things to do when experiencing low energy. 

The two stages of gratitude comprise the recognition of the goodness in our lives and then how this goodness came to us. Through this process, we recognize the fortune of everything that improves our lives and ourselves.

Gratitude allows you to mentally slow down as, in that moment, you think, ”Life is good” from a stranger extending a smile, to your loved ones hugging you after a long day. It also lets you recognise that the more you practice gratitude, the less stressed and anxious you’ll be. When something wrong happens, you’re more likely to brush it off than fixate on things because you recognise that there are other things to be thankful for, and more than half of the time, whatever it is can permanently be fixed. If it can’t, why obsess over it?

Life is beautiful when you are grateful for what you have. There’s a reason people say that comparison is the thief of joy: What do you gain from comparing yourself to someone with a completely different lifestyle from you? They probably wish they had the peace you experience daily.

The best way to practice gratitude is to be thankful for the small things, even if they are ”silly”. For example, the device you’re reading this blog post on. Not only are you able to read this, but you’re also able to share it with others so that they can benefit from it. 

Gratitude is a journey; I still have moments where I tell myself I should have this and that by now, but remember to slow down. I am thankful for something as small as my legs being able to carry me to various places I want to go to, the kind-hearted people I surround myself with, and for getting this far in my mental health journey. Remember that whatever you want will eventually reach you because if something is yours, no one can come between that and you.