Gratitude and Why You Need to Practice It

You've probably heard a lot about gratitude, or perhaps you've heard the popular phrase, "Have an attitude of gratitude." Gratitude is an important characteristic to develop. However, it's important to realize that gratitude is far more than just expressing gratefulness aloud - it involves living a life of gratitude. As President John F. Kennedy said, "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

What is Gratitude?

Before looking at why you should practice gratitude and how you can add gratitude to your life, it's important to understand this characteristic. What is gratitude? Webster's Online Dictionary defines thankfulness as "A feeling of thankfulness and appreciation." It is also described as a state of feeling or being grateful. Instead of focusing on wants and needs, gratitude is a positive emotion that focuses on expressing appreciation.

Reasons it's Important to Practice Gratitude

Why do you need to practice gratitude? Have you ever met a person who was negative about everything? After being around that person, you may have felt that their negativity was sucking your energy away. By having gratitude as a core value, you can avoid being that person. Here are just a few more reasons it's important to be grateful.

- Gratitude helps put your life in perspective. You start seeing the glass as half full. It makes you realize how much you really have.

- An attitude of gratitude helps push you out of tough moments. Challenges will occur in relationships and in your business life, but when you use gratitude to look at those challenges, it will help you move beyond that challenge.

- Gratitude also helps you learn to appreciate the little things. You'll retain that child like sense of wonder as you look at your blessings.

- Of course, gratitude will help you appreciate all the big things in life too.

What Research Says About Gratitude

You may be surprised to find that many researchers have studied gratitude. In fact, research shows that practicing gratitude offers many benefits. Here are just a few of the things researchers have discovered about practicing gratitude.

- People who regularly discuss gratitude enjoy greater levels of energy, better sleep, improved alertness and greater determination.

- When people keep regular gratitude journals, they exercise more often, they feel optimistic about their life and have fewer negative physical symptoms.

- Some new research shows that practicing gratitude daily may help to prevent coronary artery disease.

- Grateful people enjoy lower stress levels and a decreased risk of depression.

- Individuals who regularly practice gratitude report that they are better able to offer emotional support to other individuals.

Ways to Practice Gratitude

Now that you're more aware of why it's so important to practice gratitude, you may be wondering how you can begin practicing gratitude in your life. Here are some simple ways you can start being grateful today.

- Way #1 - Keep a Gratitude Journal - One of the best ways to practice gratitude is to keep a gratitude journal. Research shows that this is one of the best ways to become grateful. Get a journal, or even a notebook, and start writing down things you're thankful for each day or one day a week.

- Way #2 - Post Photos, Words, and Items of Gratitude Around Home and at Work - Remind yourself to be grateful by posting photos, words and items of gratitude around your home and at work. Quotes that inspire you to feel gratitude or photos that make you feel grateful will help you focus on gratitude.

- Way #3 - Start Saying "Thank You!" - Simply saying "thank you" to people more often will help you practice gratitude.

- Way #4 - Let Friends and Family Members Know You're Thankful for Them - Take time to let your friends and family members know that you are thankful for them. Practice gratitude by writing a thank you note, a special letter or send a text to let them know how grateful you are to have them in your life.

- Way #5 - Practicing Gratitude as a Family at Dinner - When you sit down to a family dinner, go around the table and have each person say something they are grateful for before you eat.

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Always Invest In Yourself First

The best investment anyone can make, if not the only one that will directly make the most impact in your life, is to invest in yourself. This is a key to success if you want to achieve any type of goal in your life, business, career, or anything concerning your life. Too many people invest in so many other things but always forget to invest in themselves which support the premise that there are only a few who are truly content in their lives.

It is not too late to make a positive change in life since there are a few easy things you can do to invest in yourself today. One quick action step is go and get some exercise. Go for a brisk walk, take the stairs, or jog for lunch. You will feel better, increase your productivity and energy levels, and reduce stress. Another simple and worthwhile thing you can do is pick a more nutritious lunch rather than going for that greasy burger. Your body is your investment so put junk bonds in it and watch that investment tank or go for the highly rated nutritious foods and watch your investment flourish. In life, like your body, what you put in is what you get out.

Reading a book is a good investment but if you want to make it a better investment don't just read the book, you will be better off studying the book. Study one hour a day and in a few years you could be the top expert of the subject matter you're reading. One more thing is to learn something new each day because at the end of the year you would have learned 365 new things. No matter how little you might think doing something to improve yourself might be it will all add up in the big picture. A good analogy is to reference the principle of compound interest. Constant savings through time, no matter how small the amount, will increase over the years. Obviously, the more you are able to save or invest will yield even larger returns.

The key to success in anything is just start doing it now and keep doing it because it will develop into a good successful habit. Remember, it is never to late to start investing in yourself. The sooner you start and keep doing it will translate into amazing things happening for you.

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5 Ways to Stay Productive During the Holidays

Work? Who really wants to work during the holidays? If you are a small business owner though you might need to do a little work (or a lot) during the holidays. This can be tough for a number of reasons. Are you planning on traveling during the holidays? Are your children off of school? Do you have family or friends coming to visit? 

So, how do we stay productive during the holidays? A business owner most likely cannot close up shop for two months in order to prepare for the holidays. Here are 5 solutions that will help you stay productive and still enjoy the holiday season: 

1. Update your calendar - If you have not updated your calendar for the holidays now is the time to do so! If it is an important event or meeting and you do not want to miss it, get it on your calendar now. Block out your travel time, change in kids schedules, holiday get-togethers and networking events.

2. Your time management - Now that you have updated your calendar, make sure that you have given yourself the right amount of time to complete client projects and make deadlines - especially during the holidays. Maybe now is a good time to go back and put in a little "cushion" (extra time) between events.

3. Prepare in advance - This is also contingent up updating your calendar. Now you can prepare in advance for events, projects, and any other arrangements that need to be made. What can you do now so you don't have to do it later?

4. Set reasonable goals - Once you have updated your calendar (see #1) you will have a clear idea of what your holiday calendar looks like. As you gain new business, or commit to additional projects, make sure you set reasonable goals. It is quite possible that your schedule is not going to allow for you to do as much work as you would in a normal (non-holiday) month.

5. Utilize your time wisely - Traveling during the holidays? You might have some time in the car, on a plane, or on a train to get some work done. Knowing what your calendar looks like for the next month allows you to plan accordingly. Maybe even getting up 15 minutes earlier each morning to crank out some additional emails or blog posts is the way to go.

The holidays are meant to be spent with family and friends, but a business will not run itself. Follow these steps to stay productive and still enjoy the holiday season! Happy holidays!

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Cause of Social Anxiety Disorder - What Causes Anxiety?

There is more than one cause of Social Anxiety Disorder and no single cause. Like other conditions social anxiety is a complex issue with a number of contributors. In most people, the disorder is the result of the combination of biological and environmental factors. So what causes anxiety? - a combination of genetic makeup and environmental factors like upbringing and experiences.

It is now widely accepted that just as features like our eye color or chin shape are inherited, our sensitivity to social criticism can move genetically from one generation to the next. It is estimated that a person with a first degree relative with this disorder is between 30% to 40% more at risk. So with a genetic predisposition and added environmental stimulus from life's experiences we become more prone to developing this disorder at some point in our life.

A chemical imbalance in your brain is another contributing cause. These chemicals, known as neurotransmitters, are used to send signals from one cell to another. Four neurotransmitters are believed to play a role in social anxiety disorder: norepinephrine, serotonin, doamine and gamma-aminobutyric acid. Researchers are just beginning to understand exactly how an imbalance of these neurotransmitters contribute to the cause of this disorder. It is known, however, that the brain of a sufferer reacts differently to social triggers than the brain of people without the disorder.

Environmental causes can influence the development of social anxiety disorder. Evidence suggests that many sufferers were raised in socially isolated environments. This has also been demonstrated in adoptive families where no genetic component exists. Naturally timid children are more likely to develop social anxiety disorder, indicating that temperament may also be one of the causes of the condition.

Social anxiety can become apparent at different developmental stages. Babies can develop a fear of strangers at around seven months. Separation anxiety is noticeable in some children - often most obvious in three-year-olds than in five-year-olds. Being alone can be difficult for children ages six to eight and then often becomes their choice as they approach puberty and adolescence. Solitude becomes more important as anxiety about physical appearance and performance in school increases. We also know that traumatic or stressful life events occurring at an early developmental stage may increase the risk of a later development of social anxiety disorder.

So what cause anxiety? The cause of Social Anxiety Disorder then is a combination of contributing factors. Genetics, upbringing and life's experiences all play their part.

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