Written by There is a popular song by a religious group called I Am They. Their song was titled, Scars. The hook was interesting. It went, “Be thankful for the scars because without them, I wouldn’t know your heart.” Their direction was in a religious reference, but it describes gratitude even for the challenges one endures. The effects of gratitude are a broad benefit. In addition to emotional and mental health benefits, gratitude may also have physical benefits. A study by Patrick L. Hill, Mathias Allemand, and Brent W. Roberts debuted in a January 2013 edition of the journal Personality and Individual Differences. In the article, they suggested a correlation between gratitude and health, citing things like people who engage in gratitude also engage in healthier practices while avoiding less healthy practices like smoking. (Hill, et al., 2013)
The actions of gratitude rewire our brains. The brain’s limbic system contains the thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus, and cingulate gyrus. This region is responsible for emotions and bodily functions. According to the article, “Studies have shown that hippocampus and amygdala, the two main sites regulating emotions, memory, and bodily functioning, get activated with feelings of gratitude.” (Chowdhury, Smith 2019)
Treating others in a way that makes one feel appreciated does not only affect one personally; it has a massive societal effect also. The actions of gratitude help reduce loneliness because people like people who compliment them, making the person who displays the compliments more desirable to be around. A New York Times article also points out how social etiquette on the internet seems to approve good news over bad. Gratuitous stories rank higher than those that permeate negative behavior like bullying or negative talk about people.
Mindfulness and religion stress the benefits of gratitude as a means of addressing emotional health. The practice of gratitude is seen in many religious, spiritual, and meditative practices as suitable for the soul. Being grateful for what you have is an extreme benefit in a world that stresses wanting more is more beneficial than being thankful for what you have. Complaining has become an art form for many, and gratitude contradicts that premise. Being grateful for what you have is a reminder that was a saying from Confucius. He said, “I was complaining that I had no shoes till I met a man who had no feet.” (Confucius)
Although people have hardships and challenges, strength can be drawn from acts of gratitude. It gives one the fortitude to see one’s life differently. It is not about what happens to you that matters; it is about seeing the benefits of what has happened to you. Again, that shift in perspective will determine how you see your situation. Having gratitude under any condition is crucial to perspective.
Even unfavorable circumstances can yield incredible results. Motivational Speaker Inky Johnson often refers to the career-ending football accident that kept him from going professional. He instead met Oprah Winfrey, gave her a copy of his book, and his path to destiny changed. Attitudes of gratitude are unique because they appear to open the universe to various possibilities. It is all too easy to see what you do not have, but the fact is that someone is doing worse than you. This is not a comparison of situations, but what it is becomes a dose of reality. Challenging situations can open doors to new paths, but perspective must come into play. Gratitude is the lynchpin to that shift in perspective.
One can choose to see a challenge as an impediment, and the result will be getting the result you believe will happen, which will not happen because that was your subconscious desire. Since humans want to be correct, they often look at the unlikely probability of a matter versus the possibility. An attitude adjustment is precisely what an act of gratitude is. The choice to be thankful for what one has does not negate the desire to do better and have more; it just means that being grateful for what you have is appreciative of having what you presently own.
Always aspire to be better, do better, and have more, but be thankful for what you have in the process. This does not mean settling, either. Make sure to distinguish being grateful for what you have as equal to settling for what you presently have. Doing that will undoubtedly result in contempt, frustration, and a lack of gratitude. You will not appreciate what you have if you do not desire to want or be more.
The original premise of the article is about enjoying the challenges that must be endured. Understand that a significant form of gratitude comes from the fact that you made it through your ordeal and now have something to reflect on. The actions of gratitude also transform a negative situation into a lesson learned and an opportunity to grow. This is a byproduct of gratitude.
Every situation endured becomes a lesson learned. Sometimes (more times than often), lessons come from challenges and difficulties. The endurance acquired during the challenge will yield gratitude for having the strength to go through it. The strength is a testament to your wherewithal, which must be an act of gratitude.
Let’s start small and work yourself up to more significant forms of gratitude. For example, waking up in the morning should be one of the most potent forms of gratitude you have because not everyone has that privilege. Pain can be a gratitude because it lets you know you are alive. For most people, being active and in pain beats being dead without it. Again, it is a matter of perspective.
Even the loss of someone special can produce gratitude. The loss is not gratitude at all, but since the loss has happened, using it as an understanding that you had that tremendous person in your life for a duration is genuine gratitude. Loss is hard to bear, but shifting your perspective from being angry over the loss to becoming grateful for your time with them allows for a needed change in perspective. We cannot bring them back, but we cherish the time spent. It is an act of gratefulness.
Being fired from a job can be an act of gratefulness, although you do not see it at the time. It may flower into a new and better opportunity that never would have manifested if you were not let go. Being grateful during challenging times does take a genuine shift in perspective.
A bad relationship or divorce can also be seen gratefully because it opens the doorway for someone better to come into your life. Many of these forms of gratefulness will only bear fruit until after the fact, but gratefulness is an act of things unseen. Being grateful for what has happened does allow for anticipation of something better to come.
Acts of gratefulness are suitable for the mind, body, and soul. It has excellent effects on self-esteem because, like I said, everybody likes the person who offers them compliments. The act raises your social status. In addition, it allows you to become a better version of yourself. Changing your perspective from a victim to a victor is what gratitude will do. Gratitude is wrapped up in faith (the religious viewpoint), and having it brings possibility. The options are endless, so be thankful for what you have. The act is accessible in the grand scheme.