Gratitude is a little different from a simple ‘thank you.’  Gratitude is about being thankful and polite, but it’s also about being courteous, generous, and appreciative.  It’s about being concerned for people other than yourself.  Expressing our gratitude towards others can help influence a situation positively and even change the behaviour of others. The first step to expressing gratitude towards others is being able to understand what you are truly grateful for.  Writing down the things you’re grateful for in a journal is a great way to help yourself understand how you feel about yourself and others.  Writing in the journal can take as little as a few minutes a day to list the 3 things you’re grateful about at that moment. You can use the idea of a gratitude journal to help kids develop a better understanding of gratitude and being grateful.  Help them write 3 things they’re grateful for every night before bed.  If they’re too young to write, have them draw a picture of the things they’re grateful for. Challenge yourself to express some form of gratitude 5 times every day.  Your gratitude should be expressed towards everyone, not just your family members and close friends.  If you think about it, there are a lot of people who help you out every day that probably almost never hear words of gratitude, like bus drivers, receptionists, telemarketers, people who hold the door open, people who give up their seat on the bus, cleaners, etc.  When expressing this gratitude, remember to use the person’s name (if you know it), what you’re grateful for and why you’re grateful for it.  For example, “Thanks for holding the elevator Sue, I was concerned I’d be late for my meeting, now I’m going to be right on time!" If there’s a practical reason why you can’t express your gratitude in person, express it in your head or write it down. Gratitude doesn’t only have to be shown the typical way (e.g. saying thank you), it can be much more.  Every now and again look for a new way to express your gratitude for someone by doing something you haven’t done before, or haven’t done in a long time. For example: making dinner one night when you notice your partner is exhausted; taking care of your kids one night so your partner can go out with friends; volunteering to be the designated driver; offering to host the family Christmas party one year, etc. You probably have memories of your mom or dad reminding your to tell someone ‘thank you’ when they gave you a treat or a candy when you were little.  Being thankful or grateful isn’t always the first thing on a kid’s mind, but it’s important for them to learn.  The following four step method can work great to teach your kids about gratitude:  Tell you kids about gratitude, what it means and why it’s important.  Use your own words and give examples. Demonstrate your gratitude skills for your kids.  You can do this as an exercise or in ‘real life.’ Help your kids practice giving gratitude to someone else.  If you have more than one kid, have them each give examples and provide feedback to each other. Don’t stop encouraging your kids to be grateful.  Give them positive reinforcement when they’ve done a good job. As hard as it may be to do, you need to also show gratitude towards people who might upset you or drive you a little crazy.  Remember to be patient when doing this, and avoid sounding like you’re being sarcastic.  People who drive you up the wall might have completely different perspectives on some things.  While you may not agree or like those perspectives, they’re still valid opinions.  Be grateful for the fact that they’ve shared these opinions with you and you’ve learned to look at a situation from a different perspective. Even if these people drive you crazy, there’s probably still something about them that you admire.  They may be annoying, but maybe they’re always punctual or really organized.  Focus on these positive aspects when talking to these people. Consider the fact that dealing with this annoying person is actually teaching you some new skills.  Be grateful that you’re learning to be patient and calm in frustrating situations. Being grateful and being able to express gratitude can really have an amazing effect on you and those around you.  Gratitude is linked to happiness — those who are happier tend to be more grateful.  Having someone be grateful towards you can make you feel great.  Thinking about what you’re grateful for helps you focus on the positive things in your life, not the negative.  Spending time writing down what you’re grateful for right before bed can help you sleep better.  Not only do you spend the last few moments before you go to sleep thinking about positive things, but you’re able to get your thoughts out of your head and down on paper.  Being grateful tends to make you more empathetic.  This may be because grateful people focus on positive emotions instead of negative ones, so they don’t get as upset when someone is mean to them.
आभार क्या होता है, इसे समझें: एक आभार जर्नल (डायरी) लिखें: दिन में कम से कम 5 बार आभार व्यक्त करें: आभार व्यक्त करने के लिए नए तरीकों की तलाश करें: आपके बच्चों को आभार देना सिखाना: सिर्फ ऐसे लोगों को आभार न दें, जिन्होंने आपके साथ अच्छा किया है, या जो आपके साथ अच्छा बर्ताव किया करते हैं: इस बात को पहचानें, कि आभार अक्सर लाभ के साथ में आता है: