It’s no secret that good nutrition and exercise can help you maintain a healthy weight. However, diet and exercise are only part of the equation. There’s more to health and weight loss than simply eating well and taking a power walk. Having a positive attitude is just as important to your health and weight management as shopping in the produce section is.
One of the simplest ways to stay positive is to maintain an attitude of gratitude. When we give thanks it does more than just make you feel warm and fuzzy inside. It can actually help reduce depression, improve your sleep, and cause you to be less critical of yourself and your body.
Research shows us that proper sleep, a healthy self image, and a healthy mindset can all lead to realistic weight loss that you can maintain long term. If you are critical of yourself or your circumstances, you end up working from a place of opposition. The brain fights to be right so it’s very difficult to complain about something and have success in the same area. It’s like trying to ride a bike against the wind. You will struggle!
How To Stay Positive By Being Grateful
So, what are some ways to give thanks? Here are seven simple tips.
- Start with three things per day. Choose three things you are grateful for each morning like your family, your friends, your great job, the fact that you graduated from school, your awesome dog, or simply being able to get out of bed that day. Make sure to announce them out loud no matter how simple they are. Do your best to mix it up and name something new each day to help keep yourself present and avoid going on autopilot.
- Include your body when giving thanks. This one can be a toughie for some people. Your body listens to what you say so it’s critical that you point out the things you are grateful for and love about it. I’m forty six years old and there are things on me that jiggle but I can still find plenty of things about my body to be grateful for like my strong legs that help me walk my dogs or my great hair (thank you John Ryan at Festoon salon). 🙂
- Keep the gratefulness going. Be someone that looks on the bright side and finds the silver lining in every situation. Grateful people focus on blessings, being fortunate, and abundance no matter what the circumstances. Less grateful people focus on burdens and complaints.
- Thank others. When we focus on others, it feeds our soul in a healthy way. Paying someone a specific compliment or thanking them can lift your spirits way higher than any cup of coffee ever will. Don’t worry, I’m not even suggesting that you give up coffee. 🙂
- Give praise. Personally, I like to thank God every morning for another day. I realize that not everyone has the same spiritual beliefs that I do and I want you to know that you are safe with me and always welcome on this page whether we have the same beliefs or not. However if you do believe in God, I recommend starting your day with a big thank you to our Lord and Savior!
- Help others. One of the best ways to learn to appreciate your own life and/or circumstances is to be of service to someone else. Everyone has to deal with “stuff” in their lives and when we serve someone else that is experiencing a challenge, we can almost always find something about our own life that we are super grateful for.
- Stay consistent. Make daily gratitude a lifetime habit. One of the best ways to counter a negative thought is to replace it with a positive thought. Naming something you are grateful for is one of the best weapons against negative thoughts and can instantly change your outlook which almost always impacts your outcome. Consider gratefulness a weapon that you use for good. 🙂
The Bottomline of Being Grateful
What you think and, even more importantly, what you say about your life, your body, and your circumstances, has extreme power. Being grateful helps you maintain your health which in turn helps you to succeed in every area of your life. That, my friend, is called balance.
Here’s to an attitude of gratitude!
Shared with much love,
Jennifer Ledford