Secrets of Better Living – Gratitude

with Darren Scherbain

In his book ‘Happier’, Tal Ben-Sharar talks about the importance of taking the steps necessary to increase our happiness. Like any other muscle in the body if we don’t use it, we will lose it. Ask most people what they want from life, and most will answer ‘I want to be happy’. What we need to remember is that happiness is a choice so maybe what we should be saying is that ‘I CHOOSE to be happy’.

One of the ways that we make a commitment to this choice is through gratitude.

“In research done by Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough, those who kept a daily gratitude journal – writing down at least five things for which they were grateful – enjoyed higher levels of emotional and physical well-being.”

Two of the biggest culprits for our lack of happiness is anger and fear. We cannot be angry and fearful while at the same time being happy. A muscle can not fire and relax at the same time. What if we use fear to our advantage?

Fear and excitement are both high-arousal physiological states, our gas peddle is pinned down to the floor. Let’s get excited and curious about FEAR. Why is this HAPPENING FOR ME?

Nothing happens by chance so what are five things that you are grateful for?

Flex that gratitude muscle. It can be from the simplest thing as the majestic sunrise in the morning to having gratitude from sharing a smile with a random stranger. Try it for a week; write down 5 things that you are grateful for and see what happens to that sense of scarcity and fear of ‘not enough’. 1)

For me, 1) Pabo, my cat, waking me up, 2) Birds chirping outside, 3) Smell of the morning coffee, 4) Great morning chat with an electric lady, and 5) another day of ‘recovery’.