This blog was originally posted on Blogitude.
Every November, the word “gratitude” resurfaces as a buzzword we hear in our media, at our schools, on advertisements, and even in our places of worship as we gear up for Thanksgiving, a Holiday dedicated to appreciating all that you have to be grateful for and intentionally giving thanks.
Gratitude is described as “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and return kindness.”* Gratitude is all about being mindful of and appreciative for every blessing we have; from big things like our health, homes, and families, to little things like our favorite song or a great cup of coffee.
Why is Gratitude Important?
Gratitude is a powerful tool that can transform relationships and lives. It is also linked to greater success in career, marriage, and interpersonal relationships. Here are just some of the many scientifically proven benefits experienced by those who have implemented gratitude into their daily lives:
- Enhanced relationships
- Improved immune system and physical health
- Greater desire to do for others
- Enhanced confidence and self-esteem
- Improved mental strength and resilience
Practicing gratitude has the power to affect every aspect of our lives. A recent Forbes article even proposed that showing gratitude in the workplace can drastically improve employee retention rates and save much of the $11 billion dollars lost in turnover each year.
It’s Not Just a Quality
For some, Gratitude is more than a quality, or a state of being we are in each November. For those who choose it, it’s a lifestyle. A lifestyle is not something that occurs naturally. A lifestyle is the result of a person making decisions and choices about how to live their life. It takes daily practice, dedication, and reflection to adhere to a lifestyle. At Boditude, we help people to live with gratitude for their bodies, lives, and everything in between. Choosing Gratitude above all else is living, what we call, “The Boditude Lifestyle”.
So this November, we challenge you to think of Gratitude on a deeper level. Don’t get us wrong, we love November and Thanksgiving for reminding us each year of what’s really important and to be thankful for it. We love seeing all the social media challenges like “30 days of thankfulness” and campaigns like #GivingTuesday, and we hope you’ll to participate in them! But we encourage you to think of Gratitude as something more than this month’s mantra – as not just a quality we exhibit around Thanksgiving, but as an extremely powerful tool that we can adopt into our lives and practice each day to improve our own lives and the lives of others.
Check back next week for our blog, “Quick Tips to Practicing Gratitude” where we will share techniques about exactly how to practice gratitude each day and make it a routine part of your life.