The Word: Gratitude
What is it about gratitude that makes it such a powerful tool for rewiring the brain?
Let’s speak a little about gratitude and appreciation.
Recently, I was asked by a close friend how I remain so patient under pressure. We had just thrown a wedding party in my hometown in Umunya, Anambra State and I was tasked with ensuring all our guests were happy.
It was quite the task because everything that concerned the food and drinks had to go through me- food and drinks are synonymous with “party” in this part of the world. We had people from all over the country arrive the venue hoping to be satisfied. When I was alone, I thought about the answer I gave to that question I was asked and how wrong it was. I couldn’t possibly have been “born this way” and that was what my friend suggested “People tend to pick up traits along the line”, she said.
It’s very easy to lose sight of how an experience changed you- for better or for worse, but searching back I can surely point to one trait I learned along the line- Gratitude.
Hedonic Treadmill Theory
There’s a theory of happiness that states that humans have a relatively stable level of happiness through life (x) and certain events (y), either positive or negative, can effect a change to that happiness level (x+y), (x-y) but overtime the happiness gained or lost quickly returns to the happiness level observed before the event. To fully grasp this, try to think back to a time you experienced a life changing event- winning a lottery, moving into a new house, relocating to a new country, losing a close friend. After the event and some time passed did you feel the same level of emotion as when it just happened? For me, my happiness level spiked or dropped and gradually returned to a baseline and I continued happily ever after until the next event. Whether that baseline was the same before and after the temporary spike is unknown and immeasurable to me but what is certain is we are in a constant pursuit of happiness and that has been likened to being on a treadmill. Science says that the baseline is specific to individuals and genetics plays a big part (50%) in your life’s happiness level. 10% is determined by the circumstances which you live in and 40% of happiness is determined by your actions, your attitude, your optimism, and the way you handle situations. It’s nearly impossible to modify your genes to boost your contentment but a whole 40% of your happiness can be affected just by the way you act and react to life situations.
Dopamine and Serotonin
Research has shown that adopting an attitude of simply expressing appreciation and being more thankful can measurably improve a person’s overall well-being. It’s crazy, right? I’ve heard a lot about how through smiling you can rewire your brain. You see, when you smile, your body releases certain chemicals- dopamine and serotonin- known as neurotransmitters which tell the brain that you are having a good time. The trick is that simple, the more you smile, the more happiness chemicals you produce, the happier you are. Dopamine and serotonin levels have also been linked to addiction, depression, sleep-cycles, motivation and digestion. So we can hack these happy chemicals to greatly improve our health and general well-being. But how?
Fake it till you make it
I’m not saying you should fake it till you make it neither am I saying….. What I’m saying is that we can cause ourselves to smile more. Gratitude is one sure way- and it’s a choice that comes from within. The awesome thing about this powerful tool called gratitude is you are in complete control of how much you express and how you choose to express it. A study was conducted by Dr. Robert Emmons where he gave three groups of people “gratitude journals” which each group was asked to fill daily;
group 1) five things they were grateful for
group 2) five things they were unhappy about
group 3) five random things you think about e.g (fried rice is better than jollof rice)
After 10 weeks he examined the differences between the three groups on all of the well-being outcomes that were measured at the outset of the study and group 1 had a higher level of well-being than the other two groups. It’s science and you can take part in it too.
Expressing gratitude
“How can I express gratitude in a time when everything around me is falling apart?” It takes you and it takes effort.
Just before 2018 ran out, I told a couple of friends to make a recording of something they’re most grateful for and was floored by the entries I received. You can find them here.
We’ve seen how being more grateful can boost self-esteem, increase happiness, reduce depression, strengthen resilience and improve your life expectancy. Next are the ways you can apply gratitude so it becomes a habit. It only takes eight weeks of gratitude practice for people to start showing changed brain patterns that lead to greater empathy and happiness.
- Celebrate minor accomplishments
Usually, after a long day of cooking I grab a cold bottle of my favorite drink with a large serving and balance in front of the TV with a wide smile. That’s my way.
We often take small steps for granted and never get to appreciate the things we accomplish because “it’s not quite there yet”. The hedonic treadmill says that we might never get there- to that grand level where we sit and marvel at what we’ve accomplished. There’s a lot to be grateful for: returning from the office after a long day, the speed of service at your local store, writing your first line of code, the alarm which wakes up in the morning, you find an obscure artist you enjoy, your map directs you to a new destination, how favorable the weather is. Gratitude doesn’t have to be saved for the “big” things. The habit of being grateful starts with appreciating every good thing in life and recognizing that there is nothing too little to be thankful for. - Be kind
I can’t stress this enough. Whether it’s to your family, to your friends, to strangers, to your domestic workers, to someone providing you a service. See, even if you pay someone for a service they render you could still treat them with kindness. I find that a lot of people disregard the feelings of domestic workers because “they are being paid” (or maybe its because people are secretly elitist therefore feel superior) but most times their happiness often reflects on the quality of work they produce and their interaction with you- which could also improve your happiness. Smile, be compassionate and show some love. - Practice mindfulness
Mindfulness is the psychological process of bringing one’s attention to experiences occurring in the present moment, which one can develop through the practice of meditation and through other training.
Your brain is a powerful tool and sometimes you have to stop and think about the things we plan to do more of. It’s simple to say “okay I’m going to be calm when someone annoys me” but sometimes emotions are impulsive and you’d never get the chance to be ready for the moment unless you meditate and practice mindfulness. There are loads of information on how to practice mindfulness and meditation on the internet. - Keep a journal
Writing is a sure way of keeping track of things and if you write daily about things you are grateful for, no matter how trivial or repetitive, you’d get to open your mind to lots of things. It could be in an old fashioned book or a high-tech journal app, just write something.
Gratitude is self-perpetuating so all you need is a little constant practice and opportunities to be grateful will appear everywhere you look.
Spread the word.
