Derek Jeter said, "You gotta have fun…we're playing a game."
Aesop said, "Gratitude turns what we have into enough."
Living with gratitude means choosing to focus on what you appreciate.
Gratitude builds your attitude.
It replaces the "I have to" with "I get to".
Choose to… pic.twitter.com/q2N3gRSaZW
— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) July 22, 2023
According to Frank Martela, a Finnish philosopher and psychology researcher, finding meaning in life boils down to five words: “Make yourself meaningful to others”.
You can do this by opening yourself up to deep connections with others, your community and your passions.
1. Live for yourself, not someone else’s expectations.
It can be hard to live with purpose if you’re going through the motions, burned out, or filled with resentment because you’re on a path that someone else picked for you. Even a meaningful job like being a doctor can feel empty if your heart isn’t in it.
Before you can give to someone else, you have to understand what makes you happy, and start doing more of it.
2. Become an expert and share your knowledge.
One of the best ways to serve others is to find something that meets three requirements:
Once you’ve found a job or a hobby that makes you feel fulfilled, put all your focus into becoming an expert in it. Then share it with your community.
3. Practice random acts of kindness.
You should strive to do three random acts of kindness a day. It can be as simple as offering a glass of water to the mailman, spending an afternoon with a grandparent, or helping a tourist find their way.
By doing three random acts of kindness daily, you might develop unexpected deep bonds with others as a result. Here’s how:
Helping people doesn’t just feel good in the moment; it benefits your long-term health, too. Studies show that people who give emotional support to their family, friends and neighbors are more likely to live longer.
4. Be a good neighbor.
“Working together to do something that one would not be able to do alone.” This philosophy can be essential for the good of the whole.
5. Embrace quiet time together.
People don’t need to make grand gestures to be an important part of your life. Being together in silence is enough to make individuals feel connected and loved. Sitting silently with someone can be moments of deep meaning and connection.
6. Practice mindfulness.
Being intentional with your thoughts and actions, you can begin to reduce your stress and increase your happiness through consciously focusing on your state of mind.
Mindfulness is focused around being present in any moment, at any time. It’s the human ability to be aware of where you are and what you’re doing A key to mindfulness is recognizing emotions or situations without any positive or negative judgment. When you observe rather than judge, you can be more purposeful in what you say and how you say it.
Mindfulness has been proven to be an effective tool for reducing stress and anxiety. If you’re one of the 40 million U.S. adults who suffer from anxiety per year, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) promotes mindfulness as a technique for growth, self-discovery and success.
I’m a psychology expert in Finland, the No. 1 happiest country in the world—here's the real meaning of life in 5 words https://t.co/WzVZJ6RRVW
— CNBC (@CNBC) June 10, 2023
References:
The 5 things that can kill your dream:
1. Fear: Fear is one of the most significant obstacles that can stop people from pursuing their dreams. Fear of failure, fear of the unknown, fear of rejection, fear of what others might think – all these fears can hold you back and prevent you from taking risks or stepping out of your comfort zone.
2. Lack of focus: If you don’t have a clear idea of what you want to achieve, it’s difficult to work towards that goal. Without a specific target in mind, you might find yourself wandering aimlessly and lacking the drive to take action.
3. Negative self-talk: The way you talk to yourself can have a profound impact on your ability to pursue your dreams. If you’re constantly telling yourself that you’re not good enough, or that you’ll never make it, you’re likely to lose motivation and give up on your aspirations.
4. Lack of perseverance: Achieving your dreams often requires hard work, dedication, and perseverance. If you give up too easily when faced with setbacks or obstacles, you may struggle to make progress towards your goals.
5. Lack of support: Having a strong support system can make a big difference in your ability to achieve your dreams. Surrounding yourself with people who encourage and believe in you can give you the confidence and motivation to keep working towards your goals, even when things get tough.
An American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The American complimented the man on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The man replied, “only a little while.” The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish? The man said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The American then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siestas with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine, and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life.” The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats, eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”
To which the American replied, “15 – 20 years.”
“But what then?” Asked the man.
The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions!”
“Millions – then what?”
The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siestas with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”
The nocebo effect is when you experience negative feelings physically because you are told that might happen.
The nocebo effect – when expecting a drug to make you worse, genuinely does – has been seen before in medicine.
The nocebo effect is the opposite of the more familiar placebo effect, in which people feel better after being given a therapy, even if there is nothing in it.
The placebo effect is when something that has no medical properties 'works' because you expect it to, and the nocebo effect is when you experience negative feelings physically because you are told that might happen.
I personally prefer to err on the side of positive expectation! pic.twitter.com/oGW79Dhh1I— Dr Audrey Tang (@DrAudreyT) June 28, 2023
The statin ‘nice I effect’ study focused on 60 patients who had all come off statin drugs in the past due to severe side effects.
“The side effects are mainly caused by act of taking tablets, not what is in them,” Dr James Howard, one of the researchers told BBC News.
Symptoms were so bad that people had to stop taking the tablets on 71 occasions, including 31 times while they were just taking the dummy pill, during the course of the study.
“Our patients were really suffering, patients are not making it up,” Dr Howard said.
The reason statins produce a nocebo effect is unknown. The suspicion is they have achieved a self-fulfilling destiny with media reports and cardiologists warning of the side-effects of statins.
Professor Sir Nilesh Samani, the medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said: “These results undeniably show that statins are not responsible for many of the side effects attributed to them.
“Decades of evidence have proven that statins save lives and they should be the first port of call for individuals at high risk of heart attack and stroke.”
References:
“Since you get more joy out of giving joy to others, you should put a good deal of thought into the happiness that you are able to give.” —Eleanor Roosevelt
“A teacher gave a balloon to every student, who had to inflate it, write their name on it and throw it in the hallway. The teacher then mixed all the balloons. The students were then given 5 minutes to find their own balloon.
Despite a hectic search, no one found their balloon. At that point, the teacher told the students to take the first balloon that they found and hand it to the person whose name was written on it. Within 5 minutes, everyone had their own balloon.
The teacher said to the students: “These balloons are like happiness. We will never find it if everyone is looking for their own. But if we care about other people’s happiness, we’ll find ours too.”
Gratitude is powerful: not only does it feel good, it’s also been proven to increase your mental and physical well-being in myriad ways.
Gratitude is a powerful mindset that does far more than make you feel good; it can help you be your best self both mentally and physically, connect with others, and see the good in others and the world.
Think of your mind like your digestive system — what you put into it impacts how you feel and think. When you flood your mind with a constant flow of worry, envy, resentment, and self-criticism (compounded by a barrage of news and social media) it negatively impacts your mental well-being.
Practicing gratitude is like exercise and a healthy diet for your mind. Researchers have shown that it can positively impact your mental and physical well-being
References:
“You can’t feel envious and grateful at the same time. They’re incompatible feelings, because if you’re grateful, you can’t resent someone for owning things you don’t.” ~ Dr. Robert Emmons
Gratitude is important because when you express gratitude, your brain releases dopamine and serotonin — two hormones that make you feel lighter and happier inside.
Have you ever noticed that when you are looking to buy a new phone or a jacket all of a sudden everyone around you has it? That’s because, consciously or unconsciously, whatever we are focused on is what we see. If we want to trigger gratitude in ourselves, we need to intentionally shift our focus to that which we are grateful for.
You experience gratitude when you shift your focus from what you don’t have to what you do, and when you take time to appreciate and be thankful for those who have contributed to the abundance in your life.
Nearly a decade of research by Dr. Robert Emmons — the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude — and others has found that people who have regular gratitude practices are healthier, happier, and have better relationships.
Further research suggests that gratitude is also key in helping individuals and teams persevere in challenging tasks.
Soutce: https://hbr.org/2020/10/use-gratitude-to-counter-stress-and-uncertainty
Everything you experience in your life from one moment to another is an outcome of your mindset, it’s all about what you think and how you think.
Your mindset affects everything, everything that you do, everything that you feel, and everything that you perceive.
When you want to change something in your life, don’t look far, simply look at your mindset, because when that changes, everything changes.
Be mindful of your mindset.
“Everything that you experience in your life from one moment to another is an outcome of your mindset; it’s all about what you think and how you think. Your mindset affects everything, everything that you do, everything that you feel, and everything that you perceive. When you want to change something in your life, don’t look far, simply look at your mindset, because when that changes, everything changes. Be mindful of your mindset.”