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5 Simple Ways to Maintain an Attitude of Gratitude

With the fast pace and demands of our world and lives, it’s sometimes easier to notice and remember negative emotions and experiences. This is why emphasizing positive emotions, like an attitude of gratitude, can benefit our mental and physical health.

Experiencing a range of emotions is part of what makes us human.

We are complex beings that can feel joy, grief, fear, and gratitude, to name a few.

Psychologists actually embrace negative emotions, like anger or anxiety, because such feelings are “states and signals that allow us to pay more attention to the events that create them,” says author Elizabeth Scott, PhD.

On the opposite end are positive emotions, like happiness and excitement.

Spending more time with your positive emotions and experiences can help reduce stress, reduce the impact of negative emotions, and program your thoughts to begin to expect more good. And we’re here for it!

With Thanksgiving upon us, it’s peak gratitude season. It’s never been more encouraging to acknowledge the things to feel thankful for.

So here are 5 simple ways to maintain an attitude of gratitude now and all year ‘round.

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1. Write Down What You’re Grateful For—Consistently

Writing down what you’re thankful for may be an obvious exercise, but the key is consistency.

Create a gratitude journal to remind you of what you have in your life (and why you are grateful for it).

Try this exercise over a few consecutive mornings and get the day off to a positive start.

Simply list five things you are grateful for using this prompt: “Today, I am grateful for _____.”

You could also jot down gratitude quotes, light a gratitude candle, and make other quick notes throughout the day as your thoughts of gratitude occur. Maybe even leave a voice memo for yourself, or send it to someone you’re grateful to have in your life!

GRATITUDE IMPACTS YOUR MINDSET

Motivational speaker Lewis Howes said, “if you concentrate on what you have, you’ll always have more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you’ll never have enough.” This attitude of gratitude quote sums up the concept of gratitude perfectly.

A positive attitude allows you to progress through life with a happier mindset.

So consider the long-term positive impact an attitude of gratitude can have on your overall well being.

2. Create a Relaxed Ambience

Here are two pairs of things that do not go together: water & oil and gratitude & stress. They do not blend.

So create a calm, stress-free, and peaceful home environment to gather and marinate in an attitude of gratitude. It won’t work any other way.

Scent can be the perfect trigger for these specific moods. A scented candle or an essential oil diffuser can help.

This Thankful Candle was blended with distinct notes of fresh ginger, star anise, and butternut squash to encourage deep thought this season. Part gourmand and part grounding, this scented candle helps set the mood and mindset for you to exercise gratitude.

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3. Move Your Body: Incorporate Mindful Exercise

There are plenty of scientific studies that show the importance of exercise when it comes to a person’s mental health. But you don’t have to work up a hard sweat to benefit from the mood- and gratitude-boosting properties of movement & exercise.

Consider light, more mindful exercises like tai chi or yoga for 15-30 minutes three times a week.

Gently stretch your muscles and practice deep breathing while reflecting on the positive aspects of your life and physical being.

These activities can be beginner-friendly ways to incorporate your body into this gratitude practice.

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4. Pay It Forward

If someone does something nice for you, you feel great. Imagine how you’d feel if you passed on that gratitude to someone else!

Paying it forward doesn’t have to be a big thing. You can spread joy simply by paying for the person behind you’s coffee or grocery bill.

Once you’ve done that, encourage them to do a good deed for someone else. This action can help create a mini-wave of positivity in your neighborhood. Now, isn’t that the feel-good energy the holiday season is made for?

5. Give Symbolic Gifts to Others

Giving symbolic gifts is a language of love all of its own. When we gift a bouquet of roses, for example, we can express a deep, enduring love. Or if we gift a gratitude candle, we can express our deep appreciation to another.

But much more important than the actual gift is the giving of the gift.

To see the joy on a person’s face as they realize you’ve picked something meaningful for them fills you, the gift-giver, with joy, too.

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6. Candles can help increase focus in a work from home environment

The rise in WFH and remote work means our workspaces are full of comforts—and distractions. But why would anyone light a candle at their work desk? To keep those distractions at bay. From chatty co-workers (albeit via Slack) to social media, candles are a thoughtful corporate gift that can help us focus and create space for us to do our best work.

Consider it a productivity hack. 💡

The presence of a candle flame can set a calming mood. Wooden wick candles in particular have a unique soft-crackling sound, which can serve as natural and relaxing ambient sound in one’s space. Plus, select scent profiles, like citrus, woody or a floral scent of a scented candle can influence physiological responses that help keep the mind on track.

7. Candles can be an environmentally responsible gift choice

First, it‘s a candle, next it’s their favorite whiskey glass. 🥃

Depending on the candle’s vessel, most candle jars can be upcycled after the burn cycle of the candle. It can be used as storage, glassware and more, so you can feel good knowing that your gift will keep on giving! And your candle gift (once upcycled) can be a pleasant reminder, if not a conversation piece in their home, of your thoughtfulness.

A candle gift set solves my gifting needs—but wait! I don’t know what candle scent they may like 😟

Bonus tip: How to pick a candle scent for a gift

So a candle gift set meets your needs, but you’re not sure what scents they like 😟 Pro tip: consider an unscented candle or a gift set that offers a variety of scents.

The unique thing about Spoken Flames’ Trio Sets is that each candle gift set has a variety of scents with great range—from woody, citrus and floral in our F, Yes Collection, for example.

Your gift recipient would never get bored, and it increases your chances for satisfaction with a broad range of scents in their hands.

Because Spoken Flames candles are message-driven, our motivating candle statements (even without scent) mean that you’ll still win big with this meaningful gifting choice!

Why is gratitude so powerful?

An attitude of gratitude is powerful because it prolongs a positive emotional state.

In a world where it’s easier to remember the person who cut us off on the road or be triggered by something we read in our news feeds, a prolonged state of gratitude helps us counter negative emotions and experiences that can cause stress and impact us physiologically.

An attitude of gratitude is not just a one-off moment or thought. It’s a conscious and consistent effort to acknowledge what (and who) brings you joy.

Practicing gratitude is truly an exercise; much like fitness, you get the best results from the most consistent effort.

So cheers to having an attitude of gratitude all year long and prolonging a positive state of being.