“Gratitude is an antidote to negative emotions, a neutralizer of envy, hostility, worry, and irritation. It is savoring; it is not taking things for granted; it is present-oriented.”

- Sonja Lyubomirsky

The Importance Of Gratitude

The importance of gratitude can never be overemphasized. It is physically impossible to be anxious, depressed, and frustrated when you're in a moment of gratitude. That's how important it is.

You see, gratitude is a habit that is built over time. You've to practice it every single day, over and over again for it to become part of you. It is like going to the gym to build your muscles. On your first day at the gym, it is practically unattainable to bench press 300 pounds at a go. You have to show up every single day, week in and week out to be able to achieve that. It is no different from gratitude.

When you build your gratitude muscles, it becomes a habit, you gain what is called "Muscle Memory" and this will help you to keep your emotions in check so you don't have to react to every negative situation that happens to you.

For example, let's say you're driving into your workplace and someone cuts you off, instead of cursing out or cursing under your breath, you choose to remain calm. When you do this over and over again, it becomes a habit and it also shows that the reaction is coming from a place of gratitude rather than from a place of frustration.

Now, let's quickly take a look at points in our day in which we can bring gratitude into the picture:

First and foremost, when you wake up in the morning and look at yourself in the mirror, ask yourself this question: What am I grateful for today? 

This is important because you could be having lots of tasks that you need to do or you could even be frustrated or anxious about some things. But instead of dwelling on those things, simply asking yourself the right question of what am I grateful for, immediately sets your day off on a win.

The same thing also applies to our place of work. When we start every single meeting off with gratitude, it brings that positive energy and atmosphere into our culture and the more we do these things, the more they become part of us. It's that simple.

Once again, I highly encourage you to start building your muscle memory, start building that habit of coming from gratitude, and it all begins with when you wake up, it begins with recognizing when you might get frustrated, and it also begins with starting every single meeting. When you do these things consistently, you'll be able to build your muscle memory, and you'll be living in gratitude.