It feels as if we are living in a totally different place now than we did just a short while back. A trip out to the store is what brought recent events into perspective for me.
I went to Costco a couple of weekends ago to get a few things because we had family visiting. Although I arrived before opening time (usually the parking lot only has a few cars when you get there early), many shoppers were already there, and it wasn’t pretty.
I heard some people cursing at each other as they jockeyed for position to get into the store and head to the back where the paper and cleaning products were located.
Almost no one made eye contact with me. I smiled at the few people who did look me in the face but they quickly looked away. The only person who actually smiled back at me was the nice gentleman that rang up the items in my cart.
It struck me that this was just a reflection of what is happening in the world today. People are scared.
Totally understandable, given these extraordinary circumstances. The whole world has changed in a very short period of time and many of the activities we used to take for granted have been cancelled for now.
One thing that I DO know, is that people are trying desperately to stay healthy. That is the whole point of “social distancing.” But many people are missing one important fact as they obsess over toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and canned goods.
Immunity and Negative Thinking
Our immune systems can take a hit from chronic stress and negative thinking.
According to the Mayo Clinic:
"Negative thoughts manifest into chemical reactions that can affect your body by bringing more stress into your system and decreasing your immunity. By contrast, positive thoughts can actually release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially more-serious illnesses."
As you can see, it is important to try to focus on more positive topics than fixating about the virus in our midst. (Of course, we all need to take precautions to reduce opportunities for exposure, and to follow the advice for hand washing, etc.)
There are several ways to do this. At BrainSpeak, we find one of the best ways to crowd negative thoughts out of our minds is to focus on gratitude. You cannot hold thoughts of fear and heartfelt gratitude and appreciation at the same time – they cannot exist together simultaneously.
Learn more about Tuning Your Core Vibration, the latest program from BrainSpeak, that will eliminate resistance and align your thoughts, words, and actions with the life you want to create!
The Practice of Gratitude
There are many benefits to be realized with regular practice of gratitude and appreciation. My favorite article about the benefits of gratitude is found on Happier Human, it give the science behind each one of 31 Benefits of Gratitude.
Here are just a few examples from this article:
Gratitude is one of the key components in our recently released Tuning Your Core Vibration program, because gratitude also helps you overcome resistance to making positive changes in your life!
Zig Ziglar
Gratitude...
" Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for."
How to Tap Into the Feeling of Gratitude
Now, you may be finding it a little bit more difficult right now to really FEEL gratitude. A lot of us are feeling fear and anxiety. But we all have so much to be grateful for if we really stop and think about it.
You can start with simple things like friends and family members (the ones you like!). Or think about the beauty of a sunrise or sunset, a starry night, or a blue sky with a few puffy clouds. Once you find something that you can truly feel appreciation for, and you spend a minute or two contemplating that, often you will find that other people/places/things that you love will come into your mind as well.
Many people find that spending a few minutes every day writing down what they feel appreciation for helps to reinforce those feelings. When they find themselves struggling to get in touch with gratitude they can read through their gratitude journal to remember how they felt.
The important thing is to do what you can to shift your focus to more positive emotions. You will decrease stress, increase your happiness, and invite more wellness into your life as a result.
