Ok – so happiness can’t possibly boil down to one solitary thing, however many researchers believe that if you HAD to it would be gratitude. Gratitude can not only
be the path to a more life satisfaction but even improve your heart.
But being “grateful” isn’t necessarily easy, especially if you are prone to a strong negativity bias. (The glass half empty vs half full world view.)
How to bring more gratitude into your life?
- Start to notice. Noticing what’s around you environmentally and your thoughts, feelings and behaviors. They all help to prime the pump for gratitude.
- Take in the good. What is around you that you’ve never noticed? Practice awareness of the positive things throughout your day. Spend time really thinking about them and savoring. This also helps rewire your brain towards more gratitude.
- Daily review. At the end of the day either journal about or reflect upon three good things that happened or are already a part of your life that you’re grateful for. This is a nice practice to do before bed to further seep into your self-conscious.
If you try the above and still struggle with happiness or feeling grateful, know that you are not alone. Sometimes there are deeper and tangled unhealthy roots of experience that make this difficult. Problematic parental relationships, family of origin stressors or past trauma can be a block to happiness but know that these things can be resolved with additional support.