44. Gratitude, Happiness & Mental Health

conversations with guests. If you want to lead a more intentional life, focus on being the best you possible. Please subscribe today. Now, let's get into today's episode. Hello, my positivity posse and welcome to another episode of positivity on fire. You know, it's the holiday season, and I'm taking a look at gratitude, happiness and mental health because let's be honest, there's nothing tougher than the holiday

season. I want to share with you why having a habit of gratitude can go a long way toward having a better close to 2021. So let's jump right in, shall we? Wow, when this show airs, it'll be less than a week to Thanksgiving. It's the middle of November it's Movember and health month, November. And I can't think of a better way to kind of wind out this month, then an episode on gratitude, gratitude, happiness and mental health. And let's talk about that today. What does that look

like? What does gratitude look like in our lives? What does happiness look like? And how can it affect our mental health? I don't think I have to state it for you. But gratitude plain and simply is an expression of appreciation for what one has in their lives. It's a recognition of value of things that make people feel good. It's not, let's let's be clear, it's not about the things that you have, it's not about monetary worth, it's not about the things in your house, it's not what kind

of car you drive. It's not what kind of clothes you have the house that you have, the second house that you have, whatever it may be, that we're not talking about being grateful for what the money brings, you know, we're talking about gratitude as it pertains to your life, overarching your life. And it's about the goodness in your life, the the warmth of your life, and the things that bring you

happiness. And again, I know it's going to be hard to separate the idea of, you know, I make a lot of money, I have a big house, I have a lot of cool things, are you that's all gonna be tied back to money. Let's, let's put that off the table for a second. Now what you have, okay, now what you have? No, we're talking more about things like the people in your life, the health that you have, the relationships that you've

fostered. And the overall appreciation and noticing of the goodness, the good things in your life. And I say all of that, to just put this picture in your head, you could have all that you could have all the wealth in the world and have all those great things, all the toys, etc. and be grateful, absolutely 100%. But if you were to find yourself on a deserted island, after a plane crash, after a rack, a boat wreck, whatever it may be, put yourself

in that position. And if you had that one go to person, you know life, you'd still be grateful, right? Absolutely. You'd still be grateful, be grateful in a different way. So let's talk about what is gratitude, like at the very base level, what is gratitude? And here's the thing with gratitude. Gratitude is both spontaneous, I happen to

just hit you. It also can be a disposition, and you can you know it, you see it, there are people who are more grateful for the things that they have in their lives for how their life operates, and others. So they do it on the daily and other people, something hits them, it strikes them, and they're grateful for a particular moment. They're grateful for a particular thing that has

occurred in their life. They're grateful for the person that's next to them, that walk side by side with them in life, whoever that is, then because November is the time to be grateful for things right Thanksgiving is all about gratitude. Think about it. It could be your loved ones, could be your pet dog, your pet cat, whatever you have in your house in the animal. It could be just the fact that you're out in nature. It could be just general life in general, things are

going well. And you're grateful for what you have at this moment in time. Why is the homeless important that why is gratitude important for me? When I find that I am grateful for the things in my life for the path that I'm on for the things that I'm doing for the influence the impact and the value that I have or add to other people's lives. It boosts my happiness is a it's a straight equation. Grant attitude boosts happiness. It helps with your physical well being, it helps with your

psychological well being. So for people who are struggling with mental health, a practice of gratitude, a daily practice of gratitude, a journaling habit can help. And I know that sounds crazy that a simple habit of writing things down for that which you are grateful on a daily basis, could pivot your negative thoughts could pivot you away from expressing negative thoughts for having negative emotions could provide you with the ability to have some clarity

around your own life. And to be happy for what you have in it lessens things like resentment, lessons, things like envy, minimizes your chances of constantly thinking about those things. And when you do write, let's be honest, depression, at its core, is about the things that you don't have in your life. It is filled with

resentment filled with envy. And you go deep into thoughts that are negative, the things that you don't have things that you haven't been able to accomplish the things that other people have. But when you stop for a moment, and you consider what you do have in your life, you will find things that you're grateful for. That's the habit

of gratitude. That's the habit of having a gratitude journal, the things that you are happy for, on a daily basis, things that you're happy for in your life, you just need to dig deep and look for it. And I'm, I'm here to tell you like, I do this, and I've gotten off the track, I'll tell you that as well. There are times when I don't keep up with my journaling as I should. But when you have a habit of journaling around what you're grateful for, you start to realize the things that you

do have in your life. So what are the steps? What do you do? What is the habit of creating? Or cultivating gratitude in your life? Well, you know, it starts with looking at the goodness in life. Yes, I know, some people can't see the goodness in life, you might very well be one of those people who can't see the goodness of life. But if you are and you haven't started to appreciate it. It's time to do

that. Now we live in a culture which hypes cherishes, puts out there stuff, stuff, stuff, stuff, the constant one thing of things need to have this need need need to have that. not want it. But needed, do we really need those things now? That's true, we don't need them. But what happens is that starts to develop bad mental health habits, it can certainly put us into a thought of cynicism or narcissism. And those two things robs us of gratitude.

So if we spend it, we flip it, we turn it around, and we start to have a practice of gratitude, you can become more grateful. I know that sounds funny to say a habit of gratitude makes you more grateful. But yeah, at a base level it does. And the funny thing about gratitude. Yeah, it's contagious. You know, they say A smile is contagious.

So is gratitude. When you see people around you being grateful when you model that, you know, as a parent, if you model the process of being grateful for things, for being able to show your kids how you express gratitude. It's paying it forward, man is absolutely paying it forward. And it doesn't have to be verbalized by anybody else. It doesn't have to be reciprocated by anybody else. If you're doing it, people will catch on. I know it's crazy. I know, it's crazy.

I hear myself, you know, telling you these things. And you need to realize I do it. Because it's a reminder for myself, it's a reminder for me to go back and ended up into my gratitude journal, for me to continue to be grateful for what I have in my life. And as as we're hitting this time of year, I am grateful for so much in my life. I'm grateful for my family, I'm grateful for the ability to be on this path of being a coach and a content creator. I'm having this show. I'm grateful

for my friends in my life. I'm grateful for my health, my well being and grateful for the ability to be able to connect with folks like yourself, and just I'm just grateful for life in general. And I think for me, and it may be true for you. Being grateful, is inherent, right? It's just inherent in who I am. It's actually one of my five character strengths is gratitude. So I may come by it more naturally. If you don't, that's okay. That's all right.

But let's think about some things that you can you could possibly do to foster gratitude in your life and this these tips come straight from Psychology Today. The first step is what I've already mentioned, keep a journal, some way of writing down big or small, daily joys of life. That's what gratitude is, the joyful things that happen in your life. And I know you're gonna say, well, things don't happen to me, I don't have a happy life, I don't have a joyful life, you'll find

something. One thing that makes you happy, one thing that brings you joy, I guarantee you have it in your life. Number two, write down three good things. So identify three things that have gone well for you, and identify the cause. Number three, write thank you notes to others. There's got to be somebody in your life that

you're thankful for. One, just pick one, it doesn't have to be 1020 or 50 people now, one person, write them a thank, you know, tell them why you're grateful for having them in your life. Number four, think about people who inspired you. And what about them was most significant. And that doesn't necessarily need to be somebody in your life, that can be somebody that you look up to somebody that is a role model for you in your life. Think about what inspires you about

them? What is it about their lives that you're grateful for? Okay, and then lastly, number five, engage in mental subtraction. So, okay, mental subtraction is you look at your life. And then you imagine what it would be like if some positive event had not occurred, right, some positive event hasn't occurred. What would your life be like? And if your life you feel like your life is not great at the moment, I get that I understand. But somewhere along the line, something has

happened positive to you. You may have to dig deep to find it. But think about if that hadn't occurred, where would you be? So why is this important to me? Why is this important to me? J. Ramsden, Jason Ramsden, J. J Ramsden? Why is this important to me? Alright, let me tell you, I believe in making the world a better place. I believe that starts with gratitude. I believe it starts with other things as

well. But studies have shown when you have a lot of people being grateful for things, we pivot, we pivot from the eye to the we. That's why this is important. And we when we start using words, we wish to also have a lower proportion of negative emotions. Right? So we're trying to take people, this what this show is about positivity. When you are grateful for things, you believe in others, you use the word we you have more positive emotions.

And I'm not saying you have to go out there and shout from the rooftops for what you're grateful. For know being grateful for things is can be a private thing. And it still helps, you don't have to share what you're grateful for. And I know people have that habit around Thanksgiving going around the table, what are you grateful for? Okay, I get it. It's a moment in time because everybody's gathered together.

But you don't have to do on a regular just writing it down and being grateful for things helps. That tip, remember that tip, I said, write a thank you note to somebody? Well, if you don't want them to hear it, write it and put it away, tuck it away, you don't have to send it. But just expressing the gratitude to them. Whether they see it or not, is paramount to moving forward with being happier in your life. And being more having a more stable, having a more positive outlook, and having

better mental health. And there's plenty of things that you can do to make this happen in your life. And I'm not saying either that you write one letter, your life is gonna change. Now. The benefits of gratitude take time, it's not going to happen overnight. So here's my challenge to you. My challenge is to do the next 30 days, the next 30 days, you know what, let's take it to the end of the year. This show is gonna air on November 20. So let's go

right to December 31. Let's keep a gratitude journal every day until the end of the year. And they'll let us see. Okay, report back send me an email Jason at positivity on fire calm. And let me know if you're seeing a difference in your mental

health. If you're seeing a difference in how you operate, if you're seeing a difference in your daily life, that's my my holiday challenge to you is to start a gratitude journal and do it daily between now and the end of the year, so that you can kick off 2022 in good form and good fashion. And if you do this, I almost guarantee you know what I'm

going to guarantee it. I'm going to guarantee that when you stop putting all your time and energy into pursuing the things that you don't have, and looking at your life and saying I don't have this I don't have that I don't have this, this relationship, this type of house, this type of thing in my life when you stop doing that and you start putting all of your energy into being grateful for what you have right

now, in this moment in time. And you do that on the daily, you're gonna see a change, because gratitude reverses our priorities in our life. And it helps us appreciate the people and the things that we do have. And as we head into Thanksgiving, as we head into the winter holiday season, all I want for you, my friends, is a better life, I want you to have a happier, healthier mental attitude. I want you to find the positivity in your life, the positive aspects of your life.

That's all I've ever wanted. My having this show, is to help you move through your own self discovery journey. I've been on one myself. And I know that that's tough work. So let's do this gratitude challenge together. Let's make it the best possible and to the year. And I've got a couple of episodes coming up here as we end the year one with Dana Lawson, opportunities, not challenges. And then also another one with Shane Makita. On living life to

the fullest. Both of them are focused on gratitude and positivity. I think you're gonna enjoy those both here in the coming weeks. And as we get ready to wrap up this show, just if you liked this show, if you like, if you like what I'm doing, give me please give me a five star rating and review wherever you listen, share this episode, put it out on social connect with me, you know, our shows message only grows when you share it, there is no advertising. There isn't a whole

lot of social around this. This is a grassroots movement to kind of move positivity into the world. So I appreciate you being here. But know this as I close my show every single time. Thank you for being here, my friends, your gift of time listening to the show, it really does mean the world to me. And just always remember be well be happy be you and until the next time, may your quest for positivity begin today.

For more of my positivity quest follow me at underscore j y Ramsden on Instagram tick tock and Twitter. If you like today's episode, please give us a five star rating and review on your favorite podcast app or visit chaser.com and search for positivity on fire. Positivity on fire is a production of impact one media LLC. All rights reserved.