How Gratitude Can Change Your Life

By Susan “Honey” Good

Are you a grateful person? If you are, you know the benefits of a daily life filled with gratitude. That’s because the greatest gifts a mother (and, for many of us, a grandmother as well) leaves her children and “grands” is what she leaves them in their heads.

Gratitude is one those gifts, and it is a boundless and infinite emotion. Here’s how gratitude can change your life… and how to put it to work for you, starting right now.

If you are fortunate enough to feel grateful for the little things in life—and I don’t mean a fancy new possession or an impressive promotion at work—you are blessed, and you know exactly what I’m talking about.

If, on the other hand, you are oblivious to the sunlight on a glorious day, or take the sweet waitress for granted who went above and beyond as she served you at lunch, it’s time to pause, take note and readjust your values. I promise you that you will reap untold satisfaction. And it’s never too late to incorporate a new skill into your life, especially one that will enrich it.

And take a moment to think about your grands, a generation that’s at risk for becoming entitled. As modern grandmothers, let’s use our inner beauty to teach them about the importance of gratitude and appreciation on an emotional level rather than a materialistic level.

HOW TO NURTURE GRATITUDE

Did you know that grateful people have stronger immune systems, sleep better, feel more alive, and experience more positive emotions? They also have a greater ability to express compassion and kindness to others. I hope these facts are compelling enough to motivate you to embrace this transformative emotion.

And for those of you who are lucky enough to already have the remarkable, and oh-so-beneficial “grateful gene,” pass it along through your actions and discussions with your grands.

I am well aware that we all have hard times. I have, indeed, had mine. But I know through my personal experiences that having the ability to feel even a tiny bit of gratitude for all the other things in my life has helped me weather these storms.

How to get started?  Here are my three top ideas on how you can integrate gratitude into your life on a daily basis.

1. Gift yourselves and your grands with a festive Gratitude Jar. Every time you or your grands feel a moment of gratitude, write it on a slip on paper and put it in the jar. On visits, compare notes with your grands.
2. Keep a journal. A saleswoman by the name of Sue helped me in more ways than one when she fitted me with my first pair of shoes after I had a cast on my leg removed. She gave me a powerful piece of advice: “I keep a pen and pad of paper on my nightstand. Before getting out of bed each morning, I write down one to three reasons I feel grateful.”
3. Be cognizant of all the people in your life. Say “thank you” with a big smile to the person who serves you coffee at the local cafe and step up those meaningful, warm hugs to family and friends. You’ll make others happy, and you will feel wonderful because of the way you are more connected to them.

GRATITUDE IS HEALTHY

When you are in doubt or have had a particularly challenging day, remember these astonishing facts and remind yourself why it’s better to live gratefully.

1. Overall positive emotions can add up to seven years to your life.
2. Grateful people will have 10 percent fewer stress-related illnesses.
3. Grands that are grateful are more likely to get 20% better grades.
4. Gratitude helps you forge more satisfying relationships with others.
5. Grateful people have 13 percent fewer arguments.

Show your gratitude to others as I am showing mine to you with this: You are the reason I pen my thoughts because the fact that you read my musings makes me very happy—and I am deeply grateful to all of you.

And as you strive to bring gratitude into your lives, remember these words from the renowned Greek philosopher Epictetus. “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” Do you agree, darlings?

Susan “Honey” Good is the founder of HoneyGood.com where this blog originally appeared. The site is a collection of lessons learned, life advice and insights from not only her, but from a fantastic group of contributing writers, each adding their own spice to the recipe. Honey Good.com representing “a family tree of women” — wives, mothers, daughters, granddaughters, mothers-in-law, daughters-in-law, sisters, aunts, cousins and girlfriends — coming together to talk about what makes them tick as well as what they have in common. Honey Good discusses life experiences with wisdom, humor and intellect, enabling all to attain a “Honey Good Style of Life.”