“Count your blessings” I heard that a lot when I was young, even though in reality life wasn’t easy for my parents who to coin another phase were “overworked and underpaid” We feel grateful when we can see and feel the good things in life. Oftentimes though we tend to focus on misery over joy. Why do we do that?

We are changing though, especially for those of us in the health and wellbeing business. Socially and spiritually our society is evolving and our gratitude radar is becoming more finely tuned, we are focusing more on connecting with other like-minded souls, we are being more empathetic, positive as well as having a more helpful attitude. YAY!

There are many sayings that tell us to focus on the now and not the past so that we can be more aware of all that is good in our lives. This quote may well be the original one…

- Charles Dickens

Lexico.com defines gratitude as a ‘readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness', 

this highlights the human tendency to want to repay those blessings. Much like Newton’s law of action and reaction. BUT what if gratitude means so much more than what it says in the dictionary?

When we express gratitude, it makes us feel good! Something amazing happens in the brain,

it releases dopamine and serotonin, these two vital neurotransmitters responsible for our emotions immediately boost our mood and we feel happy inside. It’s the best antidepressant ever, I prescribe a daily dose, here’s how…

Tie an elastic band around your toothbrush and each time that you clean your teeth let it remind you to say in the mirror all the things you are grateful for.

Robert Emmons (leading expert on the science of gratitude) sees it as a ‘relationship-strengthening emotion’. Gratitude is possible through that feeling of being valued by others.

A recent paper by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley delves into gratitude as a dispositional trait, and as an emotion. It states: ‘Research suggests that gratitude is not simply a cultural construct. It has deep roots that are embedded in our evolutionary history, our brains and DNA, and in child development.’. Similarly, Christina Karns (director of the Emotions and Neuroplasticity Project at the University of Oregon) wrote about the connection between gratitude and the brain for the Washington Post. Neuroscience shows that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex in the frontal lobe of the brain is ‘richly connected to even deeper brain regions that provide a kick of pleasurable neurochemicals in the right circumstances. In layman's terms: doing good makes you feel good. 

‘Gratitude is an energy that returns to you magnified’, says Kari Samuels, a renowned intuitive counsellor and happiness coach. Focusing on the law of attraction, her advice is to send vibes of gratitude into the universe to draw more positivity and healing into our lives. It’s not about being indebted to those who have made us feel grateful. It’s about cultivating that feeling of “good” in our own lives and in the lives of others, by spreading little acts of kindness. Doing a “good deed” is an old-fashioned concept, but there could be no more perfect a moment for a resurgence than now. Can you imagine what the world would be like if everyone took some time to leave just that little bit more happiness in their wake? Through actions of giving and practices that invoke gratitude, we can collectively bring healing to the world. 

In summary research suggests that gratitude and acts of giving offer social benefits such as the reinforcement of relationships, a reduction in materialism, positive effects on mental and physical health PLUS possible longer life expectancies!  

Give yourself the gift of getting high … a “helpers high” that is!

Do a good deed, give a gift or lend a helping hand to someone in need.

In turn your overall sense of well-being increases as you attract positivity, healing and joy

It’s the simple law of cause and effect.

Enjoy…