Gratitude turns experiences into happiness

Change is the only constant in our lives! How apt is that given how our lives have changed in the last two months. Who said wishes don't come true?

Many people wished to be at home doing nothing.

Many students wished they didn't have to go through the pressure of exams.

Many people wished they could eat homemade food everyday.

Many wished they could watch Netflix all day.

All of them knew that the wish will bring happiness in their lives, but none of them thought their wishes were going to be fulfilled. Lo and behold! A magic wand appeared from somewhere in the form of #Coronavirus and all those wishes were granted.

But are we happy? If you scroll through social media pages or if you are a coach like me who hear from others, you will come across one word very often "Anxiety".

Though people got many things they wished for, they are still anxious. And, rightfully there are many reasons to be anxious for.

So here is a lesson from human psychology.

We chase what we don't have and we feel that is where our happiness is.

Whereas, happiness resides right in front of us everyday, but we fail to open our eyes towards it.

It is the simple things in life that bring happiness and contentment, to be precise it is the simple things we achieve in every day life that brings happiness on the table. Apart from all the obvious "simple things", it is the small steps that we take that provide us with happiness and contentment.

You got the chance to read a story to your child? That is a small step you took today towards your goal of building a lifelong bond with your child.

You got the chance to cook a meal with your better half? That is the small step you took today towards your goal of forming sustainable relationships.

You got the chance to read a book? May be that will help you to discover your longterm plans.

You were able to hold a critical business meeting with a client on zoom? That is the small step you took today towards in boosting your influencing skills even when you were physically not there.

These are simple things, but they are boosting your essential skills. So, here is cheers to all the executive learning that you are doing at home from simple things in life. And if you can, here is one more thing you can do.

Develop a habit of saying gratitude for each of these simple things. And, trust me that won't go waste. According to researchers, a habit of gratitude comes with many benefits that will be useful for you in your professional life as well.

1. Gratitude is found to be consistently associated with happiness

Gratitude helps to get rid off the toxic emotions that control our negative responses to situations and increase stress. It helps to increase happiness hormones in our system. The happiness hormones in turn helps to providing mental well-being, focus, energy and overall satisfaction about life.

2. A habit of gratitude provides you with mental clarity

Gratitude is a habit that helps you to give more attention to your own thoughts, actions and responses. What comes with this introspection is the clarity of your thoughts, actions and responses.

3. A habit of gratitude helps you to grow your influencing skills

Gratitude is a great way to grow your skill in thinking from other people’s perspective. It provides you with greater influential skills, drawing support from others and thinking from other people’s perspective.

4. A habit of gratitude helps you to increase your empathy

Empathy is a trait that determines the effectiveness of a leader. When you look at situations and people in your life trying to find the silver lines, you develop the ability to be more in tune with emotions and be more empathetic.

5. A habit of gratitude helps you to become more self-aware

A habit of gratitude helps you to be more in touch with your thoughts, emotions, perspectives and actions. That is, you will be more in touch with yourself. This self-awareness leads to acknowledging and understanding your abilities, priorities and aspirations

Have you tried my book 30-Day Gratitude System: A complete system to develop a habit of gratitude and enhance your self-leadership and growth mindset?

Would you like to know more about how you can use gratitude as your Secret Code to unlock your success? Find it in my new book Unlock Your Hidden Potential. No matter what difficulty you are facing, you will find practical and easy to follow Secret Codes to unlock your success, outlined by the Three Gates framework in this book. You can find a copy of the book at https://amzn.asia/d/iUfvP9o.

After reading this article, could you please do the two simple steps below?

1. Share this article with your friends and colleagues, so that they too are aware of this amidst their busy schedules. 
2. Do you have any insights or tips that you use? Would you like to share that? Please use the comments section below and let me know!

Sindu Sreebhavan is a Growth Mindset Consultant and Content Developer, a Design Thinking consultant and the CEO of As Many Minds. She speaks, writes and consults on growth mindset, growth culture, innovative mindset and innovation. She is passionate about innovation in education and youth development. Sindu is the founder of International Youth Leadership and Innovation Forum (IYLIF). She is also the founding editor of The Kidz Parade magazine - a publication that helps children develop growth mindset and showcase their creativity. She is the author of Infinite Possibilities , 77 Thoughts to Kickstart Your Day, 30-Day Gratitude System: A complete system to develop a habit of gratitude and enhance your self-leadership and growth mindset and the lead author of Breakthrough. She has also authored numerous course materials on personal development and growth mindset. She was awarded 'Exceptional Woman of Excellence' by Women Economic Forum. She speaks at major conferences about Innovation, Creativity, Innovative Mindset, Growth Mindset and Youth Development. If you would like to invite her to one of your events to speak, connect with her on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/ssreebhavan.

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