Gratitude in the Holiday Season

As the aisles fill with tinsel and holiday cards, we recognize that to some people the jingle bells and mistletoe are welcome reminders of years of joy and tradition. Yet for others, it triggers a sense of grief, anxiety, and depression. Many might feel all of these things in the same day.

One tool for navigating the sometimes-overly-cheerful season (along with approaching it mindfully) is the daily practice of writing in a gratitude journal. The routine of getting into a posture of gratitude can combat feelings of despair at a subconscious level. We tend to see what we look for (what we call the Confirmation Bias).  Gratitude will help you change how you see the landscape of your life by reprogramming your brain to look for the blessings rather than focusing on the ways you wish life was different.

Not to mention, the brain in a grateful state gets a natural extra dose of dopamine, the neurotransmitter responsible for helping you seek out rewards. This means your body will want you to continue to look for (and find!) reasons to be grateful.

But don’t just think it; write it down. The process of putting mental and emotional thought into a physical reality engages the brain at a deeper state. It also serves as a tangible means to review the reasons why you are grateful, even when you don’t necessarily “feel” the gratitude on a given day. Reviewing earlier entries can help kickstart that process.

Try not to make your gratitude conditional on your current level of happiness.  You don’t actually need to feel happy to conjure gratitude. You can acknowledge frustrations, sadness, and even anxiety and still turn your mind toward an experience of the day or something in your life, and feel a sense of gratitude toward it.  Go ahead and take the first step in a grateful direction.