The concept of practicing gratitude is essential to cultivating our resilience and therefor it is mentioned in numerous places throughout Onward. Today I want to share some thoughts on how it connects to this month’s habit: Focus on the Bright Spots.
Often by practicing gratitude and writing down 3 things I am grateful for everyday, my mind naturally is drawn to the bright side of things. The challenge is to be grateful even when at first there doesn’t appear to be anything to be grateful for. As challenging as this sometimes is, by searching out moments of gratitude, we are focusing on the bright spots.
Wonder what this is doing to our brains? Neuroscience Reveals How Gratitude Literally Changes Your Brain to Be Happier proposes a pretty compelling argument for practicing gratitude. “According to UCLA’s Mindfulness Awareness Research Center, regularly expressing gratitude literally changes the molecular structure of the brain, keeps the gray matter functioning, and makes us healthier and happier.” So as you work through this Onward remember that our brains health depends on gratitude and as we focus on the bright spots, we are essentially finding things to be grateful for!