Thanks Giving Is Good For Your Health

Regular Workouts?
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Solid Nutritional Plan
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Adequate Hydration
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Solid Sleep Habits
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Daily Gratitude Practice
❓ Huh

When you think of fitness results, gratitude is typically not the first thing that comes to mind. It’s burning more calories, eating healthier, and Sweatin’ to the Oldies like Richard Simmons back in the late 80s.
But when it comes to being healthy and a life well lived, gratitude and fitness go together like sugar and spice (and everything nice).

Gratitude and Fitness

The benefits of fitness are clear and well documented at this point. You’re able to do more things, feel more confident, get sick less, have more energy, help people you care about, have better sexy time (and more), improve the overall quality of life, and just live longer. I’m pretty sure I don’t have to sell you on that one.

But what about gratitude and what does it have to do with fitness?

Gratitude does the body good!
And when it comes to results, it’s like a performance enhancing drug. But legal… and the only side effect is strengthening your spirit and sense of self.

Just the act of practicing gratitude in your daily life can positively transform your attitude, enhance human connection, and generally make us happy. Not only that but recent research has proven that daily gratitude practice can also (1):
lower blood pressure and improve other biomarkers
improve our immune system and help us fight illness
lower risk of depression and other mental health illnesses significantly
Improve athletic performance (2)
The best part?
It’s totally FREE!

When it comes to our fitness, gratitude will not only help us continue to show up, it will help us show up BETTER. And if you’re doing it right, just the act of working out is a way of expressing love and gratitude for our bodies.

Here are two ways gratitude will enhance your fitness journey:

1. ENJOY THE PROCESS

Psychologists believe that humans who take greater pleasure in process based goals rather than outcome based goals generally have higher success rates and stick to it longer. When it comes to fitness, we believe that enjoying what you do is EVERYTHING.

You know from your own life experiences that success isn’t linear. It’s actually far from it. You have to be prepared for all of the dips going into it. But if you take a longer view – you see you are moving forward all along.
The simple practice daily gratitude and reflecting on progress can give you the ability to not only identify the small wins but to celebrate them along the way.

That also applies when it comes to nailing your fitness and nutrition goals. Take some time to identify things like..
Learning a new exercise
Going up in weight on your deadlift
Have an easier time going up stairs
Being consistent over a long period of time
Drinking more water
Consistently making better food choices
Showing gratitude for those little milestones is essential when it comes to enjoying the process.

2. SHOW UP… EVEN WHEN IT SUCKS

What can go wrong will go wrong. Murphy’s Law.

Whether it’s fitness or business or just life, you’re likely to experience periods where things just suck. It’s inevitable. But how you respond is what matters most.

Practicing gratitude is like a lighthouse that not only shines on the good things but allows you to see the jagged rocks in the process, outlining a clearer path to move forward.

We won’t always have control over the stuff that happens to us, we do have full control over how we respond. Gratitude is a powerful force that will help us keep showing up… even when it sucks.

How to Express Gratitude
Some of us do this naturally but the vast majority have to make it a deliberate practice, both to ourselves and to others. I mean, we all have an incredible number of things to be grateful for if we just take a second to look.

START WITH YOU
Being happy starts with being able to express gratitude towards yourself taking stock in the fact that you’ve made it this far in life and you’re still kicking.

You can:

1. Take a Gratitude Time Out

When life gets stressful and things don’t seem to be adding up sometimes it helps to take a step back, zoom out, and refocus the lens on what really matters.

When you haven’t hit your initial goal weight, missed a bench press PR, or twisted your ankle walking down the street this can be a powerful tool to find joy in what you’ve been nailing.

The best part?
It can take less than 60 seconds.

2. Make a Gratitude Journal

For some of us, a physical reminder or representation is necessary and keeping a gratitude journal in your desk or by your bed can be super helpful.

When I sit and reflect on my on gratitude experiences, I am overwhelmed by the number of people and events that have made a meaningful impact in my life. The very existence of 614Fitness and our wonderful members is a gracious miracle.
Taking some time to jot down those you things you have to be grateful for is a powerful tool to unlock the power of gratitude in your life.

3. Tell Someone

It is a little trickier but sharing gratitude with other humans can be infinitely more rewarding. It can both empower them to be better themselves but also unify the tribe. That means everyone can share in the glory of success!
In the fast-paced day to day we can easily forget that others don’t know when we’re grateful for their actions. So the best thing we can do to help them know is to tell them!

Here’s a few tips on sharing gratitude with others:

Be Specific
When showing gratitude for yourself and others the more specific you can be the better. It might be as simple as recognizing someone’s effort like: “I can tell you were really busy today and I want to thank you for your service.”
Don’t be afraid to be random
Expressing gratitude can be done anytime, anywhere. In fact, it is even better when you are not feeling particularly gracious. Gratitude is tonic for YOUR soul as much as the others’. But…
Be sincere
Don’t confuse the fact that expressing gratitude benefits your health and fitness with insincerity. Say it – mean it.

Believe it or not, sharing gratitude can become a fitness habit that you can do regularly. It will not only improve your own health and wellness, but you’ll be sharing it with others around you.
Truly a Win – Win!