Neuroscience of gratitude: practising thankfulness will bring more positivity
When moving to Vancouver in 2013, I quickly realized that immigrating would be one of the toughest, life-changing events of my life. Like many other immigrants, I was initially struggling with the many challenges that come with leaving your old life behind and finding yourself in a completely new environment.
Delaying happiness
One day, as I was pondering over my new life, it dawned on me that I was equating reaching a goal with finding happiness. I realized that by doing so, I was setting myself up for feeling frustrated until I actually reached my target. I started noticing that I was always running after something in order to become happy: learning English perfectly, finding a job, having a successful business, finding a partner, buying a house and so on. No matter what it was, I was delaying happiness until later, forever postponing it and connecting it to another goal.
By chance, I stumbled upon a very inspiring documentary called Be Here Now, which helped me change my perspective on life. In the documentary, a terminally ill cancer patient reminds us to live each day as if it were your last. When you want something deeply, take action, do the best you can, but, even if the results haven’t arrived yet, all you can do is be here now and appreciate the present moment.
Gratitude list
So, I started making a gratitude list at the end of each day in order to practise being thankful and honour what I already had in my life. Even today, as a life coach and counsellor, I continue this practice as it has helped me go through other difficult situations in my life. And, even if it may not always be easy to find something positive, we know that the more you practise, the easier it gets. And this is not magic. This is neuroscience.
Because “neurons that fire together, wire together,” the more we practise being grateful and thinking positively, the stronger your new neuropathways will become. In other words, your positive thoughts will become more entrenched, stronger, more automatic and more readily accessible.
So, what can you start being grateful for in your life? What can you do to bring small moments of joy each day? Train your brain to see life through a more positive lens.
An immigrant from Switzerland, Nicole Gfeller is a life coach, counsellor and art therapist. Her counselling business in Vancouver aims to empower other immigrants who may be going through difficult times in settling down in Canada. Visit her website at nicolegfeller.com or email her at info@nicolegfeller.com. She writes the “Living a Fulfilled Life” column for Canadian Immigrant magazine.