009: Practicing Gratitude is your Soul-Revitalizing Super Power

Happy Holidays! Welcome back to Worth It, the podcast designed to help you dream, plan and live your ideal life! In this episode, we want to take the time to focus on the importance of gratitude! The benefits of practicing gratitude are nearly endless. People who regularly practice gratitude by taking time to notice and reflect upon the things they're thankful for experience more positive emotions, feel more alive, sleep better, express more compassion and kindness, and even have stronger immune systems.

Have you ever wanted to have a superpower? Now you can.

At some point, I think we have all wished for superpowers, right? I certainly have! The reality is, gratitude and appreciation are superpowers that everyone is blessed with. They’re some of the best tools in your toolbox for uplifting yourself and others, but only work when you use them. The practice of being intentionally grateful resets your focus from what isn’t working to what is.

And when you focus on what is working, you’ll attract more of that, in the form of opportunities, resources, and clients. With the practice of gratitude, before you know it, your barriers shrink away and be replaced with solutions, ideas, and synchronicity.

The science backs it up

Practicing gratitude actually has significant, trackable physical effects on the body and your overall health. In several studies, people were asked to write every day about things for which they were grateful. Not surprisingly, this daily practice led to greater increases in gratitude, as well as physical health. But the results showed another benefit: Participants in the gratitude group also reported offering others more emotional support or help with a personal problem, indicating that the gratitude exercise increased their goodwill towards others, or more technically, their “prosocial” motivation.

Want to be happy? Be grateful

The one thing all humans have in common is that each of us wants to be happy, says Brother David Steindl-Rast, a monk, and interfaith scholar. And happiness, he suggests, is born from gratitude. In his talk from TEDGlobal 2013, Br. David talks about how grateful living can change the power pyramid under which we live and gives a simple formula for our gratefulness practice: stop, look and go.

Practicing gratitude

If you enjoy writing, if you are good at it, or it feels natural to you, then a promising way to practice this strategy is with a gratitude journal. Choose a time of day when you have several minutes to step outside your life and to reflect. It may be first thing in the morning, or during lunch, or while commuting, or before bedtime. Ponder the three to five things for which you are currently grateful, from the mundane to the magnificent. Finally, the expression of gratitude may be particularly effective when done directly – by phone, letter, or face-to-face – to another person. If there’s someone in particular whom you owe a debt of gratitude, write him or her a letter or a card. Dustin R. Granger, CFP® talks about the joy he gets from writing personal notes to people he is grateful for. If you are not sure how to start, describe in detail what he or she did for you and exactly how it affected your life; mention how you often remember his or her efforts.

Outline of This Episode [4:30] Gratitude is the “new” superpower [6:10] Science says practicing gratitude has tremendous benefits [10:30] The Spiritual components of being grateful [11:30] Brother David Steindl-Rast - TED Talk [17:00] scarcity or abundance [21:00] How does gratitude relate to legacy planning? [24:00] Learn from the masters: Epicurus, Cicero, Anthony Robbins, Oprah Winfrey [32:15] Ways to practice gratitude [40:15] Developing daily gratitude rituals [44:30] Big Announcement next week, don’t miss it! Resources & People Mentioned Mike’s Pastry Shop High Existence - 50 life secrets and tips Article TED Talk “Do you want to be happy? Be Grateful” Tim Ferriss Interview with Walter Isaacson Connect With Danielle and Dustin Ask your questions! On Facebook On Twitter Connect with Dustin on Twitter: @DRGranger