Making gratitude the priority.
The Benefit of Making Gratitude Your Goal
Neuroscience has found that all humans have a negativity bias. This means that our brains are more cued in to noticing threats than rewards. It means that we will notice, respond to and remember the negative for more than we will remember the positive things we encounter. This is important for our survival. But I just came across a study that found that we can be just as responsive to the positive if our goal is tied to finding the positive.
This means we can overcome this negativity bias if we just make finding gratitude our goal. When finding gratitude is our goal we will be more likely to notice it and it will be more likely to create a response in our amygdala.
This has definitely been true for me. Now that I have been prioritizing gratitude for so long I am more cued into noticing it in all situations. This is the beauty of a daily gratitude practice. When you have that as a daily goal you are going to find things to be grateful for much more often. Have you found this to be true for you?
Celebrating the ordinary is a practice that requires paying attention. Embrace the temporary. Live in the moment. Be grateful for all the little things. Let your eyes linger on what’s right in front of you.
~Karen Speerstra
What are you grateful for that is right in front of you?
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[su_note note_color=”#e7e7e7″ text_color=”#686767″ radius=”0″] My gratitude journey started in May 2011 and continues to this day. Thank you for being a part of it! A daily gratitude practice is simple. Write down three things you are grateful for each day. Download your free GratitudeGuide. My clients focus on gratitude and learn from their successes to make the positive changes they want in their lives. You can too. Call me to set up our first meeting 505.333.9336. [/su_note]