What or who are you grateful for? Do you often compliment people? World Gratitude Day is celebrated on 21 September each year – and reminds us to give gestures of thanks and appreciation to others and the world around us.
There are plenty of benefits to practising gratitude and experts say doing it even once a day can be beneficial to us – and hopefully others.
Let’s explore the ways to sprinkle thanks around like fairy dust and how gratitude can boost our wellbeing…
Do good, feel good
There have been many studies into how gratitude increases wellbeing and happiness. One study showed that practising gratitude for 15 minutes a day, five days a week, for at least six weeks can enhance mental wellbeing and possibly lead to a lasting change in perspective.
Another study showed that when couples actively express and receive gratitude, it can improve their relationship.
Focusing on gratitude has also been linked to increased patience, lowering high blood pressure, increased motivation for exercise and strengthening the immune system.
Get into the gratitude attitude
There are many ways to show appreciation. Giving compliments is one of our favourites. Seeing a smile burst out on a stranger’s face after you’ve told them you love what they are wearing is heartwarming. Thanking a colleague for support, guidance or a job well done can encourage a positive atmosphere at work. Telling a loved one how much they mean to you is always a good idea, so make that call, visit or even write a letter.
Words can be enough to give the people in your life a boost. However, if you do want to treat someone, we have a fabulous range of vegan beauty gifts here.
Bank your thanks
Another way to express appreciation is to create a gratitude jar. Find any jar, decorate it with ribbon, stick-on gems, glitter, however you see fit, but make something that brings you joy. Every day write down something you’re grateful for and place it in the jar. It might be the friendly cat at the end of your road that always says ‘hello’! The barista who always remembers your preferred coffee choice and your name – or the postie bringing you a new Libre London delivery!
When you need to feel uplifted, read through the gratitude notes in the jar to fire-up feelings of joy.
You could also take pictures of the things and people you’re grateful for and pin them on a mood board.
What if I’m not in the mood for gratitude?
It’s difficult to get into a positive frame of mind when you’re not feeling it, we get it.
If you’ve found someone or something challenging in your day, have a think about what’s happened. What did you learn from the situation? Can you find a silver lining in some way?
Afterwards, write out a sentence to express gratitude about the situation and how it’s helped you to learn. For example, ‘I am grateful that my colleague challenged my ideas today, although I felt upset at the time, it helped me find a solution to make my project stronger.’
If you’ve had a tough day you might write something like this: ‘Today has been really difficult, but I am grateful that not every day is like this. Tomorrow will be a better day.’
The best times for giving thanks
Try writing a list of things you are grateful for to set you in a positive mood for the day ahead. It might be your morning coffee (can you tell we love coffee?), it could be that you had a good night’s sleep, or that you have exciting things lined up in your day.
If you’ve woken up feeling in a funk, think about an experience or a person in your life that you’re grateful for and focus on the warm feelings this brings.
Sleep studies have shown that expressing gratitude before bedtime can have healing effects on the body and sleep patterns. If you’re too tired to pick up a pen and write a list, you could just focus on feelings of gratitude.
Now it’s our turn…
We are grateful for every single customer here at Libre London – and the amazing brands that we stock. We want you to know that we think you are awesome. Thank you for supporting us.