The Influence of Gratitude

We are continuing on with cognitive reframes this week. You can check out the other cognitive reframes I’ve written about here. As a reminder, a cognitive reframe is a shift in the mindset so you can approach situations from a new perspective. The ones that I will share with you are small shifts you can make in common approaches we have to things that will hopefully have beneficial impacts for you. 

This week we talk about gratitude.

It’s taken me a long time, but I am at a place now where I am comfortable experiencing the full spectrum of emotions. I can name them much more quickly and accurately now, and I rarely run away from what I name.

While I think this is the healthiest point in which I’ve been in my relationship with emotions, I consider it equally healthy that I still strive to find and experience joy the most out of any emotion.

Thanks to Brene Brown, there is a very effective way to shift situations from whatever they may be to ones filled with joy. The trick?

Gratitude.

Now, the difference between running away from our emotions to knowing when it’s time to implement gratitude to move to joy is a great question. For me, I know gratitude is something I need to turn to when the emotions I am currently experiencing shift from something I can name and sit with, to something really heavy and burdensome. We aren’t meant to get stuck in emotions, so if you find yourself stuck in one, then it’s okay to do what you can to move through it. That’s not you running from your emotions, that is you finding health.

And lately, I’ve been finding myself getting stuck in stress, overwhelm, fatigued, and irritated. My son has entered the toddler years in full force and tantrums are alive and well in our household. The past couple of weeks there has been moments where I have felt a real heavy weight and burdensome fatigue. Again, these emotions are valid and are going to be experienced in motherhood. But they started to drag me down in a way that I knew I was getting stuck in them and not moving through.

Thankfully, I remembered this trick from Brene Brown and I started to shift my perspective. What was at first exhaustion from following my son around in his constant-on-the-go adventuring, shifted to gratitude that I get to be outdoors so much, that I get to see where my son’s adventurous heart leads him, and that I got to hear his “wow wows” as he soaked in the beauty of nature.

And I kid you not when I tell you that there was an immense shift as the weight lifted off of me as I shifted my thoughts to ones of gratitude. I’ve turned back to this again and again so often these past few weeks and each time, without fail, I feel so much better.

So, if you find yourself amidst the weight of getting stuck in heavy emotions or just want to strive to experience joy more often, gratitude is your answer. Start to name gratitude in what you are experiencing and joy will be quick to follow.