The Practice of Gratitude

If you're following along with our Instagram account or are a member of our Facebook group then you know we're encouraging everyone to take control of the next 365 days (366 actually, since its a leap year) and create every day with intention.

We know the practice of journaling EVERYTHING daily can be daunting even for the most seasoned "journaler". So, we thought encouraging everyone to just write down ONE thing daily would be a GREAT start to 2020. And we can't think of a better thing to record daily that what you are grateful for! Of course, the Gym Gypsy journal has a "Gratitude" section and we'd certainly suggest using that to write down something every day for the month of January.

Why do this? Well, recording what you're grateful for has several, not so obvious benefits:

1. Being grateful makes you a people magnet. No really! Being positive and appreciative of what you have makes you more appealing to be around. Just think about it. Who would you rather hang out with? Someone who is constantly complaining and comparing, or someone who tends to look on the brighter side of things? This attractiveness ripples through the rest of ones life too as people who are more attractive tend to live "charmed" lives. People want to hire them, help them out, etc.. It's not all luck. Its gratitude.
   
   

2. Grateful people are more stress, anxiety and depression resilient. This may come as no big surprise but formally accounting for what you have to be thankful for creates a more positive associating with ones life and circumstances. Its human nature to only remember the bad stuff so unless we create a regular habit of identifying of all of the good things in our life, it can be easy to overlook or forget them and get weighed down by all of the negative things.
   
   

3. Gratitude increases physical health and well-being. Likely, this is tied to reduction in stress and an increase in feelings of well-being. However, those who regularly engage in a gratitide practice are less likely to complain of aches and pains and engage in health promoting behaviors more often. AND they sleep better. Wins all around!
   
   

4. Being grateful improves our self-esteem! Ok, so most of us could use a little boost in self-esteem regulalrly. And naming all of the good things in your life reinfornces that you HAVE done great things and have a lot to be grateful for and proud of!
    

That short list is just a fraction of the many, many benefits of regularly recording and acknowledging what you're grateful for! I hope this encourages you to take part in writing down what you appreciate daily for at least the month of January! If you're taking part, follow and tag us on social media using the hashtags #gymgypsygratitude and #gymgypsy365 and join our Facebook group for more personal connection and support! 

 

Sincerely, 

Vanessa Bennington

Gym Gypsy Founder