Healthy Living
3 Ways to Incorporate Gratefulness
November is a season of gratitude, making it the perfect time to look back on your weight loss journey and recognize the people who stood beside you along the way. Take a moment to appreciate the friends, family members, coaches, and supporters who consistently encourage and motivate you. Their support and understanding may have helped make your success possible, and expressing your gratitude can make the journey even more meaningful.
1. Be Appreciative
Expressing gratitude is always a good idea and it’s something that you can do all year long. A little thanks can go a long way for you and the people around you. Being appreciative of others can help to increase your happiness and uplift your overall mood. Having a thankful mindset can set off a chain of positivity which boosts your bliss and helps you to make better health decisions. Whether it’s choosing the food you eat or deciding on which activities you participate in, when you are feeling happy and grateful, your mind makes better choices that can affect your wellbeing and lead the way to weight loss.
2. Focus on 3 Good Things
To keep a positive feeling going, you need to be conscious of it and try to build it into your regular daily routine. One way to do that is to utilize the “Three Good Things” technique. At the end of each day, think back to the three best things that happened to you or three of your personal weight loss wins. Simple things like (1) My coworker complimented my new outfit (2) I successfully passed on the French fries at lunch and (3) I left work on time to get my workout in. Taking notice of the good things that happen to you and zeroing in on them, rather than focusing on the negativity and stressors in your life will change your daily outlook and improve your mood. The more frequently you do it, the more often you’ll reap the positive benefits.
3. Write It Down
This fall, try to regularly write down what you’re truly grateful for every single day. Writing something down is often more powerful than simply thinking it, because it requires you to actively process and organize your thoughts which makes those thoughts more concrete and memorable. Maybe it’s your furry companion that loves you unconditionally. Or the friendly faces in your WW support group that help you take on the week no matter what the scale said. Perhaps it’s the self-pride you feel after you make time for that brisk morning walk before starting your day. Think about those little things, the big feelings that they give you and the positive lift that they have in your everyday life.
You can also take time to write a personal note to someone you’re grateful for. While it's meaningful to reflect on the people who supported your weight loss journey, taking the extra step to write down your gratitude can have an even greater impact. Putting your appreciation into words helps make those feelings more meaningful for both you and the people who encouraged you along the way.
The choices you make on your journey are yours alone, but committing yourself to being more grateful during the month of November and all year long will likely result in a more positive attitude which can only benefit your well-being and weight loss goals.
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