Cultivating Gratitude Amid Change

We often build our lives around a routine. Each morning we awake and begin each day, more or less, on automatic pilot. Our daily routine is what we have come to expect, creating a sense of structure and stability in our lives. However, within the past few weeks, the structure of our lives has crumbled or come to a screeching halt. The stability that we once perceived being revealed to be a façade.

We watched the news reports regarding COVID-19 in China and Italy, but few probably fully anticipated the life we are now living in what is being called the “new normal.” In this new normal, we continue our role as physicians, but each day we awake with uncertainty, the parameters of that role ever-changing. Will we be furloughed or laid-off? Will we face a salary reduction? Will we be asked to take on new roles in patient care, outside of our area training? Will we have the appropriate personal protective equipment? Will we be exposed to the virus, and if we become sick, will we survive?

In adjusting to our “new normal” life, it is quite easy to compare to our “old routine” and quickly identify many negative changes. We have had to make many adjustments in a short amount of time. However, despite the numerous changes and all that is going on around us, we still have reasons to be thankful. Gratitude is the quality of being appreciative. The reasons that we have to be thankful may be related to our personal, family, and professional lives. Our reasons to be thankful may be small and seemingly insignificant to others, but not to be overlooked or taken for granted.

Cultivating gratitude helps you to focus on the positive rather than on the negative. In a sense, your mind becomes a filter. It allows you to concentrate on certain aspects of your surroundings and focus less attention on others. It doesn’t make your problems go away or make them any less important, but it helps you to be more aware and thankful for the positive things. It refocuses your mind on what you have, instead of what you lack. A grateful, optimistic outlook often does not come naturally. Just as with many other aspects of a healthy lifestyle, it is the result of conscious and consistent action.

Are you looking for ideas to help cultivate gratitude? It can be as easy as setting aside a few minutes each day.

Start a journal. Make it a habit to write down two or three things that you feel grateful for each day, reflect on the good. As you write, be specific and think about how they made you feel.

Take time to reflect. Take time each day to think about some aspects of your life for which you feel appreciative. This could include thinking about someone who has done something nice for you.

Create a gratitude jar. Each day on a piece of paper, write done one thing that you are thankful for and place it in the jar. With time the jar will fill, demonstrating all the good things in your life.

Write a thank-you note. Writing a thank-you card can promote not only your happiness but also nurture your relationship with another person. Make a habit of sending at least one card a month. Once in a while, you can even write one to yourself.

It takes a conscious effort to be positive. However, in the long run, it is worth the effort. Feeling grateful boosts happiness and fosters both physical and psychological health. A grateful outlook will help one to appreciate what they currently have, instead of feeling that they will not be satisfied until every physical and material need is met. The thinking pattern becomes like a never-ending circle, the more grateful you are, the more positive things you can identify, which in turn makes you even more grateful. So, count your blessings, savor your positive experiences in life, practice gratitude.

Giving thanks can make you happier. Harvard Health Publishing Harvard Medical School website. https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier. Accessed April 7, 2020.