5 Ways Showing Gratitude Can Improve Your Finances
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Gratitude is the process of reflecting on and appreciating all of the things in which we are grateful, including money. How we feel about money, often called our money mindsets, shapes the way we handle our personal finances. As we become more intentional about showing gratitude in our lives, over time we will also begin to see a shift in our money mindsets. The result of this shift is how showing gratitude can improve your finances.
5 WAYS SHOWING GRATITUDE CAN IMPROVE YOUR FINANCES
1. Stimulates positive mindset shifts
Being thankful for what we have stimulates a positive shift in our mindsets, which releases any feelings of scarcity and lack. When we constantly focus on what we don’t have, we discredit all of the things we already have. However; when we show gratitude for all of the things that money has afforded us the opportunity to buy or partake in, we tend to release the negative thoughts and feelings that might be lingering in our minds. As a result, we become more optimistic about money, which in turn opens up our minds to receiving even more.
2. Allows more room for contentment
Showing gratitude in our own personal finances is beneficial on its own. However; when we couple that with expressions of gratefulness from our spouses, this can, in return, multiply those benefits. When couples are content with their finances, they tend to be on the same page financially and have better budgeting strategies, which leads to less frustration while on the road to financial freedom.
Being content with your finances ensures that you are not spending money that you don’t have to impress people who may or may not even notice. Content couples tend to be less materialistic and they totally disregard people’s thoughts and opinions of their household finances. If contentment is an area of struggle for you, it might be financially beneficial for you to read “Love Your Life, Not Theirs” by Rachel Cruze.
3. Increases happiness and productivity
Happiness and productivity are greatly intertwined. According to a study reported by Partners 4 Prosperity, happy people are more productive people. But, in order to truly be happy, a person must be grateful.
Results from this study also show that the level of productivity increased by 31% for people who were happy as a result of gratefulness. More than a decade of research by Shawn Achor shows that when your brain is happy, it performs significantly better when compared to a negative, neutral or stressed brain, which in turn leads to increased productivity.
According to another study done by Business Insider, happy and grateful people also earn more and advance in their careers. If nothing else convinces you to show gratefulness, then this should. I don’t know anyone who wants to earn less money in their careers.
Simply put, when we are productive in our lives, our finances benefit as a result of that. The reason being is because higher levels of productivity help us to focus on what’s important in our lives. Being more productive in areas such as personal finance is a focal point that will really help us to move the needle in our lives.
4. Encourages generosity
Generosity has a direct correlation to our personal finances. When we are grateful for what we have, we have a tendency to want to help others. By wanting to give more, we, in turn, have to do a review of our finances to ensure we have enough to give how we really want to. Typically, we don’t just give on a whim and this is critical if you want to win with your budget.
When we give, we open ourselves up to receiving other financial blessings. Those blessings could come in the form of an unexpected check, sudden decrease in variable expenses, or even a week of free groceries from a family member or friend. We just never know who is waiting to do something good for us. So, do something good for others by giving! You will reap the rewards of your efforts.
5. Promotes discipline
Being intentional about showing gratitude is very important to make this all work. Intentionality promotes discipline and discipline is one of the key habits in managing our personal finances. The level of discipline is even turned up a few notches when we begin working towards wealth-building and financial freedom.
Once we have developed a habit of discipline, not even the biggest setbacks will keep us from reaching our financial goals. This is why actively showing expressions of gratitude is key to our overall financial health.
HOW TO PRACTICE THE HABIT OF SHOWING GRATITUDE
Now that you understand how showing gratitude can improve your finances, it is also important that you understand how to actually practice the habit of showing gratitude. If you were wondering how to begin, don’t worry I’ve got you covered!
Expressing gratitude requires us to not only reflect and appreciate, but it also requires us to communicate our feelings on a daily basis. This communication can be expressed in the form of verbally saying thank you, sending handwritten notes, and/or writing in a gratitude journal, etc. Let’s break these 3 expressions of gratitude down below.
Say Thank You
Saying thank you is something that should be done multiple times each day. You can start by saying thank you to your family and friends. Then, repeat with your co-workers, neighbors, church members, grocery store clerk, or gas station attendant. You can even whisper thank you to the person on the interstate who let you over in traffic. Anyone is eligible to be on the receiving end of your grateful heart. So, don’t forget to display this simple act of gratitude whenever and wherever you can.
Send Handwritten Notes
Using this method to show gratitude requires a little more effort in the sense that you must actually purchase note cards and postage stamps before they can be mailed off. An alternative to using snail-mail would be to send a short email. However; if you are within the same location as the person you want to thank, then opt for a handwritten note versus an email. In certain situations, because it takes a little more effort to mail handwritten notes or cards, these notes tend to carry a little bit more weight than an email. So, choose wisely.
Keep a Gratitude Journal
Last, but not least is actually writing your thoughts down in a journal. The concept of gratitude journaling is not new and has been around for many years. It is basically the process of recording and reflecting on things that you are grateful for on a regular basis. The purpose of doing these daily exercises is to show appreciation for all the good things that you have experienced during a specific timeframe. All you need to do is pick a specific time of day in which you want to write, buy an inexpensive journal, and commit to writing in your gratitude journal at least 3-5 minutes every day.
Being able to visibly see everything that you are grateful for over the course of a week, or month or year should just make you feel so warm inside. It might even make you feel grateful all over again. This is the one action that will help to put everything into perspective. Here’s a free gratitude journal template to help get you started.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, being intentional about showing gratitude can help improve your finances. Expressing gratitude has to be a daily habit which you will develop once you become disciplined.
Showing gratitude is not a hard task, but it will require some effort at first. After you have truly made this a way of life, then you can expect to reap the financial rewards and benefits. As a disclaimer; once you get used to practicing these habits of showing gratefulness, you most certainly will not want to stop.
