INSPIRATIONAL MONDAYS FROM EDU: APPRECIATION OF LIFE (NOT JUST ON MONDAYS)

WHY ARE WE GRATITUDE FOR EVERYDAY?

“The more we express gratitude for what we have, the better we feel. Both mentally and physically”, says Izabela Cisek in the article “The Art of Appreciating Life”, published in one of the issues of the “Coaching eXtra” magazine. As it turns out, our ability to get used to new situations is very high, which, apart from advantages, also has disadvantages, especially when these situations are positive. Habit makes us stop seeing - and actually appreciating - the good sides of a given case; they become so obvious and "normal" that we no longer pay attention to them, although we clearly notice any deviations from this "norm" (and what is more, we react with anger to deviations, but we still do not pay attention to what is still positive). In this way, we lose the ability to enjoy what we have, and sometimes only the loss of it makes us say: oh my gosh, it was so good that I didn't think about it before either.

Feeling and showing gratitude, according to many studies by psychologists, serves our own mental hygiene, strengthens self-esteem, makes it easier to establish contacts with people, calms down negative emotions, allows you to better control anger, and also ... attracts more positive events and experiences for which we can be grateful! So maybe it's worth taking a risk and trying with this daily gratitude for everyday life? Just how to do it?

THREE STEPS TO GRATITUDE

The tips on how to practice gratitude from the article may seem obvious and trivial - but let's be honest with ourselves, how often are they present in our lives? Like many "obvious and trivial" things - they probably escape us in the daily rush of things and the race against time. That is why it is worth recalling, quoting, remembering them - and practicing.

“Keep a gratitude journal

If you like to write, choose to write down three to five things you are grateful for once a week, ranging from the everyday [...] to the extraordinary [...]. choose a time when you have a few minutes to reflect. Focus on what you have achieved or what others have done for you, on your own strengths, on what you like around you. It is best to practice expressing gratitude once a week, but it is good to choose the frequency individually.

Contemplating the wonders of everyday life

Instead of writing a journal, you can choose to contemplate the things you are grateful for and explore how they have enriched your life. Or you can target one good thing every day that most of us don't notice or appreciate because we take them for granted.

Thanks to others

It is good to express gratitude directly, in conversation with others: over the phone, the club in face-to-face contact. If you feel you owe someone a debt of gratitude or have never expressed appreciation to that person, you can write a letter. The author of this text especially recommends writing a letter of gratitude and reading it to a loved one, for example, on their birthday - it can turn out to be the greatest gift and strengthen an important relationship. It is worth describing exactly what this person did for you and how it affected your life.

EDU IS GRATEFUL FOR...

Let's try. Three to five things to start the week off right.

EDU is grateful that so many parents trust us and send their children to study with us. EDU is grateful that students are so diverse, full of energy and ideas, you can't get bored with them. EDU is grateful that each class is the next step in substantive and pedagogical development for instructors. EDU is grateful that we can hang many interesting works made during classes on the walls. EDU is grateful that for several months it has a new, large room where we work great. EDU is grateful that you read our blog. EDU is grateful... gosh, it's more than five already?

In that case, we will talk about other things for which EDU is grateful on another occasion. And now it's your turn.