In the spirit of the Thanksgiving Holiday, let’s talk about gratitude.
Andrew Huberman, a Stanford neuroscientist, researches behavioral techniques for everyday life. These ideas for creating an effective gratitude practice come from his research.
Ineffective Gratitude Practices
We usually think of gratitude as writing down what we are thankful for in our lives. Such as -- family, friends, good health, etc.
This practice is great, but we can draw more mental and physical health benefits if minor changes are made.
Benefits of Gratitude
An effective gratitude practice provides several benefits to our life, such as:
- A higher sense of meaning
- Resilience to old and new trauma
- A benefit to social relationships
- Increased ability to control anxiety and fear
- An overall increase in health (watch the video below for specific benefits)
Creating an Effective Gratitude Practice
Receiving gratitude or witnessing gratitude is the key to effective practice. (Rather than giving gratitude).
There are two ways to do this.
Start by identifying a story about:
1️⃣ - A time someone was expressing genuine gratitude to you, for something you did.
OR
2️⃣ - A narrative of someone being thankful for something someone else has done for them.
Find a narrative that is meaningful to you.
The story doesn’t have to relate to you at all.
My Gratitude Story
One of the greatest atrocities ever committed was the Holocaust. Over 10 Million people were killed, yet even in the midst of this chaos, we can still find human kindness.
“Edith Rubin was 14 when the Nazis separated her from her family. She hopelessly worked in concentration camps for years, getting tortured and exploited. Finally, in 1945, a Swedish diplomat negotiated the release of thousands of prisoners. She remembers the gratitude and immense joy she felt as a young Danish man rescued her from the camp. (This is short summary of the story, use one that you understand fully).”
Story Breakdown
Make the story into bullet points — focusing on a few key parts.
· What was their struggle?
(Ex.) Edith was enslaved in a concentration camp, and forced to live in terrible conditions.
· How were they helped?
(Ex.) She was saved from the camp and nursed back to health by those that were brave enough to help her.
· How does this impact me emotionally?
(Ex.) For me, it creates a sense of awe for the human kind. Even in the face of evil, there are those that will fight for good.
Find your own story or use mine!
Practicing Gratitude (Effectively)
Now that we have our story, we can complete our practice in under 3 minutes.
1️⃣ - Read out the bullet points at least once a week, at any time of day.
2️⃣ - Take a minute in the end to feel the gratitude expressed by these people and how their story impacts you.
It's that simple.
Studies even reported physiological benefits even after the first session.
Find a story and a practice that works best for you and begin today!
Andrew Huberman (my favorite scientist) has other science-based tools for learning. If you enjoyed learning about this, I recommend looking into some of his other material. Watch his video below for a more in-depth breakdown of creating a gratitude practice.