The power of gratitude is undeniable. By focusing on the things that you do have rather than the things that you don’t you bring more good into your life.
Happiness researcher Shawn Achor, says that by having children who are predisposed to depression share three things they are grateful for each night before eating a meal, you can turn them into lifelong optimists.
Gratitude isn’t some metaphorical feeling that comes around every so often. It is actionable, intentional and extremely powerful.
It is far too easy to get stuck in a cycle of focusing on what you don’t have, what you wish you had. This often turns into frustration and negativity. What do most people turn to when they’re feeling negatively about their life? Sugar.
Focusing on what you don’t have and what’s missing in your life often leads to sugar binges that temporarily ease the pain in the moment but leave you worse off than when you started.
When you use sugar as a bandaid for the pain and frustration of focusing on what is missing in your life, you are locking yourself into a psychological and physiological cycle that is extremely hard to break free of.
This doesn’t mean it is impossible to overcome, however. The first step to take, may seem too simple to work but that is exactly why it is so powerful.
If you find yourself stuck and paralyzed by your own negativity: stop, take a deep breath and say out loud or in your head three things that you are grateful for in your life.
Make this your daily wellness practice and watch as you are able to slowly break free from the negativity that you once felt paralyzed by. You are not helpless, you are powerful.
Gratitude is one of your most powerful tools to breaking the cycle of sugar addiction and you can begin to break that cycle RIGHT NOW.
One of our favorite strategies to develop gratitude at Sweet Freedom is to give thanks for the basics, like food. Before you begin your next meal, take a moment to think about all of the steps it took for that food to get to your plate.
You can find gratitude in focusing on the amount of work it took to grow, harvest and cook the food that is providing energy for you as a life force. Developing gratitude in these moments strengthens your relationship with food in the most positive way.