We all would have come across practice of gratitude in our life in many different ways. We know that gratitude has an immense positive effect on our life but until we practice it ourselves, we cannot experience its real benefits. Approximately 5 years ago, I learnt about the health benefits of gratitude and I got curious so I began writing 3 things that I was grateful for. I began with curiosity and it was nothing but just an experiment but it turned out to be the greatest lesson of my life that changed my life to a great extent. Writing 3 things in a diary was simple, easy and doable. I began to feel a little bored writing it alone so I encouraged my family members to join me which lasted for a few weeks. The major turning point came when I joined gratitude groups on social media. When a range of people from all walks of life write things that they are grateful for, that too every single day; it opens up our mind for more things to be grateful for. I began seeing the results that I could not have imagined before. It opened up my mind to things that I did not know how precious and important they were and also the fact that we sometimes fail to see how privileged and fortunate we are to have them in our life. Most of us have enough resources in life and still we fail to notice them. The practice of gratitude opened up my mind and I could see unlimited possibilities. It helped me become a better person and it also helped me in my professional life as well. If practiced with honesty and integrity, gratitude can create magic in our life.
My relationships got better. Let’s be honest, we take people for granted and we don’t realise that the family, friends or extended family that sometimes may drive us crazy are so important in our lives and that our lives will not be the same if they are not there. I began saying thank you to each and every family member. I realised how fortunate I was to get love, care and pampering from my extended family but I failed to see it before. I started calling my extended family that I had not called in years or perhaps in decades and that made everyone ecstatic. I started to feel better about my life. Suddenly, there was a lot to look forward to. The love and care that I received in return made my life so much more meaningful and fulfilling. I connected with people much better and I could extend my gratitude to not only my family but also to my neighbours, society and everyone who came in my life; be it my colleagues, friends and everyone who helped in my life. If we think carefully we will realise that the food that we eat, the things that we use on a daily basis, the digital technology that we use; someone somewhere is doing all the hard work to keep us going and there are a lot of areas in our life that wouldn’t be the same if they didn’t do the hard work. Studies show that gratitude rewires the brain and I could experience that. I realised that I was so busy counting my blessings that I forgot to complain. I stopped complaining altogether because I had no time to complain and that was such a liberating experience.
The biggest turning point came when we were faced with Covid crisis and I was afraid that I might not be able to find enough things to be grateful for but despite the extraordinarily disturbing circumstances, there was not a single day when I could not find things to be grateful for. I realised that life itself is a celebration if we keep our expectations low and the present day is indeed a gift from God and that made me more mindful to use every single day with care and appreciation. When we stop complaining, we automatically become happy and it was a relief not to complain at all. I had so much more energy as I was refusing negativity and I was only focusing on positive aspects. I refused to listen to anyone’s complaints as well. This saved me so much of time and energy that I used the time to do more productive things which further added to my physical and mental wellbeing. I learnt to take one day at a time and that helped me deal with the situation with a much better mindset. Every night I continued saying thank you before going to bed and began my day with gratitude. The simple experiment became such a beautiful experience and after successfully practicing it for more than a year, I can finally say that it has been the best experiment and experience of my life. The attitude of gratitude DOES result in a multitude of health, wealth and happiness. It needs to be experimented to see the results and I am glad that I did.
Parul Rana 
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