When you write ‘What would make today great?’ you are taking a step to influence your RAS to point out and engage in activities that would make your day better. Everywhere you go, your RAS will gently remind you of this change by pointing out others who have the same car as you. When you take an action like buy a new car, you have taken a major step in redefining your possessions and your RAS changes to accommodate your new acquisition. There is a small part of your brain at the back called the Reticular Activating System (RAS) that turns on and off your perception of ideas and thoughts and determines the lenses through which you look at the world. Have you ever had the experience of buying a new car and seeing the same model everywhere you go? No matter where you are and what your situation is, your focus can be shifted to something positive. Quite simply, gratitude is the experience of counting one’s blessings.Įven after cutting through the smoke of Law of Attraction-style belief systems, gratitude has shown to be quite transformative in humans ranging from housewives to nursing students.Ī 2003 study by Emmons and McCullough found that keeping a daily gratitude journal leads to better sleep, reductions of physical pain, a greater sense of well-being, and a better ability to handle change. Definitions such as “ the willingness to recognize the unearned increments of value in one’s experience ” look great on term papers but don’t get the point across. Gratitude, derived from the Latin word gratia (meaning grace, graciousness or gratefulness) eludes easy explanation by academics. For those of us without Zen training, the best way you can begin your day is through gratitude. If you are perfectly calm and still on the inside, you can handle anything. One of the greatest gifts of being human is the ability to choose what to focus on.
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