Written by Karan Patel

The dictionary definition of gratitude is the quality of being thankful, the readiness to show appreciation and to return the kindness you have received. To me gratitude means being thankful for everything I have in my life even the simple things such as water and food, it means appreciating and acknowledging all the blessings I have received, it means living life as if everything is a miracle. The more you practice being grateful the faster your perspective on life will change; it will change from focusing on the things which are missing in your life to the things that you have in your life.

Harvard university conducted a study to see the effects of gratitude has on people. They had three groups who each had a different task, one group were asked to write the things they were grateful for the things that happened during the week. The other group were asked to write about the things the were irritated by or things that annoyed them during the week. The final group were asked to write about things that affected them – without any emphasis on being positive or negative. After 10 weeks of doing this they found that those who wrote about being grateful were more optimistic and felt better about life. They also found that this group exercised more and had less visits to the physicians compared to the group who wrote about the things that irritated or annoyed them.

It is amazing how a simple thing like being grateful can have a huge impact on one’s life in such a positive way. There are many ways in which one can be grateful: you can write a thank-you note expressing your enjoyment and how it has impacted you. You can count your blessings: reflecting on your blessings and on what went right or what you are grateful of.  You can include the gratitude in your prayers. I am grateful that you took your time to read my blog. Thank You!

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