Thanks, you should give it. Why? How it benefits you. Now let me start with an incident that comes to my mind time and again. If you read the post, then to be sure you will understand why you should give thanks as much as you can.
Incident where I gave thanks
Today early at 4 AM, suddenly I got up from the bed. Then I did not know why a thought came to my mind, breaking my sleep. It’s about Dr. Sikdar, who helped me to admit my wife in the Tropical Medicines hospital of Kolkata in 2017. She was critically ill with Stephen johnson syndrome.
On the day of the appointment, we reached the hospital. What we found worried us. We found a sea of patients standing in the queue in the sun for their treatments. If we were to stand like them in the line, then we might not be able to reach the doctor on time. Then my wife might collapse at any time. Then Dr. Sikdar helped us to get her admitted to the hospital. Finally, she recovered and discharged from the hospital. After her discharge, we met and thanked him for saving her life.
But today, Dr.Sikdar came to my thought. So I rang him today at 10 AM to enquire about how well they are doing now. I thanked him again for what he did for my wife in the past. When I finished, I felt so good. The point is not feeling good; the point is why I felt so good.
Why I felt good
When I thanked the doctor, then I showed gratitude to him.
The Harvard Medical School says, gratitude is “a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives … As a result, gratitude also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals–whether to other people, nature, or a higher power.”
You must have read my earlier post here to know which happy chemicals gratitude produces. So it raised the levels of serotonin and dopamine in my body. What next? So all my stress, as well as negativity, vanished from my mind. It lifted my moods at once.
Action steps to give thanks
Find out reasons to give thanks
Pay attention to whatever you do today, whatever you did in the past, and whatever you have now. Then find out the commendable jobs you have done. Then appreciate yourself. Similarly, You feel proud of so many things you have; maybe others don’t have. The only thing is to find out those jobs and stuff. So pat on your own back. Time and now, some situations you face may frustrate you. However, when you pay attention to them, you can learn what you can not learn from other cases. So give thanks for what you have learned.
Give thanks to the people who helped you or are now helping you.
They say life is full of chaos. If you want to walk on this chaotic path alone, it’d be a difficult task for you. Few people come forward to help you in your journey; they may be from your family, friends, or outsiders. The point is not where they come from; the point is whether they helped you or are helping now. If you receive help, then show gratitude to them at the earliest. You can read here to know about how to show appreciation in crisis.
Give thanks to God
With God’s grace, you still breathe in and out, have a shelter to stay, have food to take, money to spend, and so on so forth. You have a close-knit family and friends to support you, parents to care for you. If you are aware, then you can find out many blessings God has given to you. So give thanks to God.
Plan to give thanks
Find every opportunity to express your gratitude throughout the day. Before you go to bed, sit quietly to give thanks to the people who had helped you. Don’t forget to give thanks for the blessings you have. It’s a must-have habit that will increase your positive emotions. Once you feel more positive emotions, you sleep better at night. It recharges you for the next day.
Make a habit of giving thanks.
When you start giving thanks in every opportunity as mentioned above, then for sure, you are growing a habit of giving thanks. Once you make this habit, you will fill positive emotions all the time. Why so? Because stress and negativity have left your mind. Thus your health improves.
Call to actions
Let’s join hands to give sincere thanks for whatever we have, whatever help we receive, or whatever benefits we receive. Let’s build a world of gratitude. Thanks for reading the post.