Giving gratitude can improve your happiness and health. Research is showing that being grateful improves your overall well-being from sleeping better, to less fatigue, and lowering stress hormones like cortisol in your body. Being grateful can even become addicting since feeling grateful and giving thanks causes dopamine to fill your brain. Dopamine is the chemical that gives you a natural high, in the same way that you experience a “runner’s high” after a tough workout.
This week, the Tree Campus USA Committee, came together to celebrate and honor Arbor Day. Students, faculty, and staff wrote notes of gratitude for our campus trees on a ribbon and tied it to our Thankful Ribbon Tree at the University Seal. This simple act can be repeated at home by picking one thing you are thankful for and reflecting on it.
To get into a daily practice of gratitude, try writing a daily list or keeping your thoughts in a journal. Focus on positive thoughts and what went well in your day or how others were kind to you. By writing your list in the morning, you can set a positive tone for the rest of your day. Like anything new, it will take time to turn the practice into a habit.
You can also show gratitude each day in small ways. Say thank you to a friend or coworker to let them know how appreciated they are, do a favor for someone without expecting anything in return, or even write a letter of thanks to someone in your life. People who receive favors and felt gratitude have been shown to be more likely to pay it forward. You’ll be the start of a chain of gratitude!
Like anything new, it will take time to turn the practice into a habit. As gratitude becomes a part of your daily routine, you can be thankful for the many benefits you’ll get along the way.
The Tree Campus USA Committee would like to thank Facilities, the Office of Sustainability, Campus Ministry, SGA, and Students for Sustainability for making the Thankful Ribbon Tree a success.
Story and photos by Alexandra Hill
Sources: Conscious Lifestyle Mag, Harvard Healthbeat