Why Developing Habits of Thanksgiving is Healthy

In the United States, we have a Thanksgiving holiday.  It’s a government-sponsored time to give gratitude for the things and people in our lives we are thankful for.   But thankfulness is a mark of a healthy inner intellectual and emotional life.  People who develop habits of thankfulness tend to be more people.  So, why should we develop habits of thanksgiving?

Habits of Thanksgiving Keep Us Centered

Developing habits of gratitude is a staple in substance use and recovery counseling programs.  Participants of such programs learn to do a daily list of things they are grateful for.  This and other similar habits enable them to center themselves.  Centering ourselves on the things in our lives that are good is a positive habit.  It’s easy to focus on the chaos in our lives.  Therefore, developing habits of thanksgiving keeps us centered.

Habits of Thanksgiving Help to Develop Emotional Openness

When we are thankful, we are open to new things.  Thankfulness helps us to become aware of the ways that we have been blessed.  As we develop a sense of gratitude for our lives we are more open about future possibilities.  Because of this, thankfulness opens new doors in our lives.  This openness can lead to new relationships and opportunities for growth.

Habits of Thanksgiving Make Us More Physically Healthy

There are a variety of positive effects that thankfulness can have on our health.  One of these is the benefits a habit of gratitude has on physical health.  Research suggests more emotionally balanced people are thankful.  This balance leads to a more healthy physical life.  According to Psychotherapist Amy Morin people who are thankful are more proactive about their health.  As a result,  they take steps toward being more physically healthy.

Developing habits of daily gratitude can lead to greater inner discipline.  Also, it leads to increased emotional and physical health.   Above all, we stay centered and live in the moment. When we develop habits of thankfulness.