Double Turkey Dare: 7 gratitude prompts to rewire your mind
In my work as a neuroeducator, I come across stories about our miraculous mind that fire my curiosity. Every week, I share my thoughts about how to work smart to amplify your organic potential, develop a growth mindset, and foster your brain health. I hope you enjoy them! (scroll down to read more)
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Making decisions based in fear is our default setting.
The mental practice of gratitude rewires our mind to see potential not threat, which fosters wise decision-making in the modern world.
Great!
So, why don’t we do it?
While the benefits of an attitude of gratitude are substantial, it takes practice to shift to that mindset. We live in a world full of negativity, bias and tragedy, and it can be a slog to see silver linings when things hit the fan.
It is difficult to be “Sunshine Sue” or “Peppy Polyanna” when our ancient brain naturally pays more attention to the difficulties. We can have a boatload of success, but we tend to focus on the one disappointment we experience in a day. This impacts our ability to take risks and avoid loss. It is a well-recognized phenomenon in economic and marketing circles and is referred to as loss aversion.
This overwhelming fear of loss can cause investors to behave irrationally and make bad decisions, such as holding onto a stock for too long or too little time.
We self-sabotage for a reason
The tendency for the human brain to focus on negative experiences is rooted in evolutionary psychology. Throughout human history, being attuned to potential threats and dangers was crucial for survival. Our ancestors who were more vigilant to negative stimuli were better equipped to avoid harm and pass on their genes. This built-in negativity bias helped ensure our species' survival. This bias is also why some people still have instant and often extreme reactions to snakes, spiders, and other creepy crawlies.
In modern times, even though most of us are not faced with the same life-threatening dangers our ancestors encountered, this bias still persists. The brain's sensitivity to negative information can lead to a heightened awareness of potential problems, allowing us to respond to challenges and protect ourselves.
Additionally, negative experiences often have a stronger impact on our emotions and memory than positive ones. This phenomenon, known as the negativity bias, means that we tend to give more weight and attention to negative events, perhaps as a way to learn from and avoid similar situations in the future.
While this bias was beneficial in the context of survival, it can become a hindrance in contemporary life. Acknowledging and appreciating positive experiences, such as practicing gratitude, can help counterbalance the negativity bias. However, it may take conscious effort to shift our focus from the negative to the positive aspects of our lives.
Despite the brain's natural inclination to focus on the negative, practicing gratitude allows individuals to train their minds to notice and appreciate the positive aspects of life. This can also transform your aversion to risk, which may be sabotaging your professional or financial decisions.
So, let me throw you a turkey bone.
I am giving you a week of quotes about gratitude with a single thought prompt to answer. Take five minutes each day to record it somewhere, allow yourself to mentally ponder it, and see how it feels to pause and practice gratitude.
Think of it as your mental Turkey Trot.
Got plans and can’t take this challenge this week? Come back to it next week and keep at it. No excuse ever got anyone where they wanted to be. If you desire a happier outlook, this is a scientifically proven method that is entirely free.
I double turkey dare you!
A week of gratitude prompts:
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.” John F. Kennedy
Describe, in your own experience, how you live by gratitude or have seen others live by gratitude.
“Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy.” Fred De Witt Van Amburgh
Fear of financial ruin is a powerful force that often influences our behavior. If you had no fear of anything to lose by showing gratitude, what would you do?
“Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out.” John Wooden
Describe a time when things didn't turn out the way you had hoped, and you made the best of it anyway.
"Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude." A.A. Milne
Children are often great teachers as they are unaware of many of our cultural taboos. Describe a situation where you observed a child showing great gratitude. Describe as much detail as you can remember and the impression it had on you.
"This a wonderful day. I've never seen this one before." Maya Angelou
How do you keep gratitude fresh?
“The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.” -Dalai Lama
What do you think the Dalai Lama was trying to say? Describe this in the form of a story that might be written for a child about this quote.
“Gratitude doesn’t change the scenery. It merely washes clean the glass you look through, so you can clearly see the colors.” -Richelle E. Goodrich
How does perspective affect how you see the world and make decisions that impact your trajectory?
Gratitude gives the gift of courage. While it may sound like a fluffy practice, it builds grit, confidence, and resilience. If you want to reap the benefits of a growth mindset, here is a powerful and simple way to do it. On that note, thank you for taking the time to read this to the end. The next step is up to you.
Gratefully,
Neeli
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