According to some history books, the first Thanksgiving celebration was held exactly 400 years ago. While the original Thanksgiving event has become controversial, the meaning and intent of the celebration still holds true. It is the celebration of everything we are grateful for, including the harvests that nourish our bodies. Gratitude isn’t just something we should have; it is something that we should all practice every single day. Not only does gratitude help us to see all that is right in our lives, from enjoying a cup of coffee to being able to kiss our loved one’s goodnight, but it is also genuinely good for our health.
5 ways practicing gratitude improves our lives
Improve your physical health - Researchers have found that gratitude can actually improve our physical well-being. It allows us to sleep better, which of course, improves your health. Likewise, it has been proven to boost our immune system. And, when a person is getting better sleep and has an improved immune system, there will be less disease development. By purposely practicing gratitude, your sense of happiness will also improve, and your stress levels will decrease. Less cortisol, which is the body’s stress hormone and a contributor to illness and disease, will decrease with the practice of gratitude.
Improve your mental health - Our mental health is so important, which has been impacted in the last two years. By practicing gratitude, we will look at everything in our lives more optimistically. Our brains will learn to see the good rather than take the easy route to see things in a negative light (which contributes to stress levels, anxiety, and depression). The simple practice of being grateful also boosts our mood and makes us happier. Who doesn’t want that?
Handle adversity - When we take time to be grateful for all the good things, we can better handle the challenges that we encounter. Instead of being afraid, we learn that something may be difficult, but with perseverance, we will get through them, and there will be silver linings.
Value your relationships - When we practice gratitude daily, we will experience better relationships with the people we care about most and even perfect strangers. We won’t take our loved ones for granted. Instead, we will appreciate the little and big things they do.
Minimizes toxicity - By practicing gratitude, we can learn to recognize what isn’t good in our lives and work at removing it/them. Life is short, so identifying when things in your life are toxic will significantly improve our lives and help us be even more grateful.
3 ways to practice
Here are a few ways to practice daily gratitude and get a nice dose of endorphins and overall happiness.
Gratitude Journals - Writing down a bit of a list everyday is a great practice to get into. Of course, we can just think of them in our head, but there is something about writing them down that (scientifically) helps us remember what we have and helps us to handle any bumps in the road.
Visuals and Apps - We can hang pictures around or write them on sticky notes as reminders of all we have and are grateful for. There are also a lot of gratitude apps available for our devices where we can quickly jot down or photograph all there is in which to be thankful.
Communicate - We are blessed with many ways to communicate with people, so we should take advantage of that and tell someone each week or each day how grateful we are that they are in our life.
The Anneomaly Digital team has a lot to be grateful for...
I literally don't even know where to start this year. This year has been a great year - I'm grateful for our clients who trust us every day to help them grow their businesses. I'm so glad that so many of our clients have become wonderful friends over the years. Just thinking about it makes my heart grow three sizes. I'm grateful for the team here at Anneomaly - what a phenomenal group of people I get to work with every day... they're hardworking, smart, compassionate, they're hilarious, and I'm so glad I get to spend so much time with them. I mean, I guess at the end of it... what I'm really grateful for are all of the people that are in my life every day.
-Anne, Founder and Co-Owner
I’m super thankful for my family and my kids. I'm thankful for the ability to carry and deliver a baby for another family with the help of science and amazing Dr.'s! I feel so blessed to be part of his life and get those baby snuggles. I am thankful for the flexibility and opportunity to work from home with the Anneomaly Team! They are all fantastic people! I'm also thankful for good coffee, good wine, and all the moments of each day that are in between!
-Christine, Digital Project Manager
Hmmm. I'm thankful for the support of Anneomaly as I transitioned into working remotely! I mean, in an RV. YES! I am thankful for seeing so many old loved ones on this trip. I’m also thankful for the connection and kindness I've seen on this trip--people are still good.
-Laura, Social Media Coordinator
I’m so grateful for every single day that I get to wake up and see my children. I am grateful for every second out in nature--the birds, the clouds, the waves, the trees--filled with amazing adventures. I am grateful for my small family, my significant other, my beautiful friends, my funny/insane pets, and the amazing ways the universe has blessed me. Oh, and I am so thankful for my bike! HaHa.
- Jill, Content Creator
At Anneomaly Digital, we are extremely thankful for all of you. We hope you have a wonderful and grateful Thanksgiving.