Attacking the Root of Discontentment in order to be Grateful

It’s a familiar memory for a lot of Americans: sitting around the table for Thanksgiving dinner, each person taking a moment to mention the things they’re grateful for. Unfortunately, being grateful seems to be something we’re reminded of only once a year on the holiday.

When it comes to practicing gratitude, many of us fall short. That can be because thankfulness cannot flow from a discontented heart. It’s easy to get caught up in the day-to-day, with the difficulties that life throws to us on a regular basis. We start to focus on our troubles, then wonder why we’re often so tired or unhappy. Discontentment becomes destructive when we get fixated on what we lack, what we cannot control, what we do not have, or was never meant to have.  When the belief is we deserve something this leads to entitlement and greed.  This belief system can only rob us of thankfulness.

Practicing mindful gratitude, and being thankful for things all year long, will improve your life in several ways: it will improve your physical health, your mental health including lower levels of anxiety and stress and your relationships. If you’re a person of faith, you can use your faith to improve your gratitude in the following ways.

Improved Physical Health
Gratitude helps improve your physical health in numerous ways. According to a 2013 study published by the journal Personality and Individual Differences, grateful people experience fewer aches and pains, and were more likely to take care of their health. Improved self-care will have a positive impact on your willpower and mood, and help you sleep better.

Improved Mental Health
Regularly practicing gratitude can help you learn to appreciate yourself more. By being grateful for your blessings, and not only basing it off of comfort one can start to look less enviously on the special trips and occasions of your friends in your social media feed. Avoiding negative thoughts will help bolster your self-esteem and keep your mood lifted. Gratitude can also help ease depression as you stay mindful of reasons to be happy and appreciate the positive things in your life.

Improved Relationships
Saying please and thank you shows good manners, but it also exhibits a positive attitude that can attract new people into your life. Showing appreciation will not only lead to new friendships, but will also help improve existing ones. As you practice gratitude on a regular basis, recognizing the positive in the people in your life and letting them know, you’ll create loving, long-lasting bonds.

Finding reasons to be and stay grateful can sometimes be challenging. Life can often test us in ways we feel we’re not quite prepared to handle. So how do we become content?  It is not based on comfort an circumstance but found in the posture of your heart.  Leaning on your faith in times of trial can give you the edge you need to practice gratitude regularly and coming to God with surrender.  Perhaps it’s time to look at things differently?  Praying for God to open our eyes instead of taking a circumstance away. What if he has placed that difficult circumstance in your life for you to recognize how much you truly need him?

The benefits to mindful gratitude are so numerous, it’s well worth the time and effort to make practicing mindful gratitude a priority in your life.

If you’re looking for guidance and direction on how to practice mindful gratitude, and start changing your perspectives give Minds at Peace Therapy a call today. We offer secure, convenient virtual sessions.  One of our specially trained staff will be more than happy to help.