Thanksgiving is seen as a holiday where you express your gratitude and thankfulness for the people around you. As we are quickly approaching finals season and last chances to get the grade you want in certain classes, we can also apply Thanksgiving’s themes to our own brain!
There are studies that show that by verbally/mentally expressing your gratitude for something daily actually improves happiness. It is the same thing as mentioning a positive thought every day to yourself to bring positivity in your life. Allowing your brain to think of something positive every day can train it to think outside of the box; or outside of your current emotions. Yeah, we feel down, upset and stressed but if you are able to take a quick moment to just think about something you are grateful for, it can relieve some of your stress and gather your emotions. It is almost like taking a break from the gloomy feelings. Not only does it bring a positive thought into your brain, but eventually it can train your brain to have a healthy mindset. You will be able to recognize negative thoughts quickly and remind yourself to think positively.
Here are some quick and easy ways to train your brain to have thankful thoughts:
- Say one thing you are grateful for every time you eat.
This will allow you to incorporate your thankful thoughts into something you already do! It will make it easy to create a habit and soon you will be thinking thankful thoughts routinely!
- Have a gratitude journal.
There are so many ways you can go about this. If you are a creative person, you can get a blank notebook and create your own gratitude journal. Writing once a day, or however often, what you are thankful for that day. You can design, draw, create different layouts to meet your personal creative needs. If you look up bullet journaling, there are so many great ideas out there. If you are on the not so creative side, there are many premade gratitude journals that are available for purchase. Amazon, Target, Walmart, and Barnes & Noble have great selections. These premade journals have prompts on them to help get your creative juices running.
- One positive thought for every negative thought
To train your brain to be more aware and alert, we need to notice our own thoughts. Sometimes it is hard because we do not notice that our mind is generating negative thoughts because we are so into our own emotions. A way to work your brain is to be conscious of your mind. Whenever you notice a negative thought, respond in your head with a positive one. It doesn’t even have to be related to the current situation.
It is amazing how our brain works and even the little thoughts can sway it from one emotion to another. Nurture your brain with positivity and see what it can do for your overall health!