Three Simple Ways to Practice Gratitude

And live a more mindful life

Guest Spotlight: Tracy Mansolillo

A passionate voice dedicated to improving lives and navigating change. Writer and author, strategic coach and brand builder exploring the power to transform, change, heal and thrive.

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Three Simple Ways to Practice Gratitude and Live A More Mindful Life

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.

- Marcus Tulles Cicero, Roman philosopher

Last year marked thirty years since the onset of a mysterious illness that changed my life. The details of that day in 1994, when I awoke drenched in sweat and shivering from chills, remain etched in my mind. It was the end of life as I knew it and the beginning of a new journey.

The beginning of the ‘after’ years.

• After a mysterious illness derailed my life.

• After I lost a career I loved.

• After I lost faith and hope in the medical system.

• After I learned to live again.

While I longed to return to the ‘before’ years, time and circumstance have a way of leading you in new directions.

Discovering the benefits of gratitude and mindful living became the basis of the next stage of my life and led to more joy than I imagined.

Solitude Enhances Intuition

When you’re too ill to leave your home, you learn to embrace your time alone and use it to your advantage. The alternative - becoming bitter and depressed - was not an option I wanted to consider at 27.

So, in my 30s, after years of upheaval, I began to rebuild a new, albeit watered-down version of my former life while continuing to research possible causes and treatments for the illness that left dozens of physicians stumped.

I returned to work in less challenging environments than those of my previous career in corporate marketing. Many days were filled with sorrow for what I’d left behind or lost. On other days, shame consumed me - I was young, I thought I was responsible for my illness, and I was led to believe there was nothing wrong with me by those who didn’t know better.

While conducting research in immune disorders, I stumbled across an article about the scientific benefits of gratitude. I recall reading it the first time with a hefty dose of skepticism, but later returned to the idea.

I don’t recall exactly when my mind first shifted, but after years of quiet solitude and the consumption of dozens of books on the topics of meditation and gratitude, I began hearing an inner voice, one I had previously been unaware of or ignored. I had never been in tune with my intuition but that began to change.

Researching the possible causes of my illness consumed me for years. Still, it was the exploration of mindfulness and gratitude that strengthened my intuition and changed my perspective.

I didn’t call my practice mindfulness at that time.

I called it survival.

My self-taught course on gratitude began as I lost hope for a return of my health. I wondered if the science behind gratitude was really as it seemed.

Survival By Gratitude

Robert Emmons, professor of psychology at the University of California Davis and one of the world’s leading experts on the science of gratitude, explained that there are two primary components of practicing gratitude:

• Learning to wake up to the good around you and notice the gifts you have received.

• Recognizing that the source of this goodness rests outside of yourself — that you receive these gifts from other people, and sometimes from a higher power, fate, or the natural world.

The premise was easy enough to understand, but learning to see the good around you is challenging when your life is turned upside down and filled with uncertainty. Still skeptical, I committed to a gratitude practice with little else to lose. Initially, I recognized small shifts in my mood. There were breaks in the sorrow, and I began to acknowledge that life continued despite my new circumstances.

In time, I became thankful for the simple blessings in my life - the people and things that surrounded me when I needed them most:

• My devoted dog

• My supportive and loving parents

• A roof over my head

I slowly learned to embrace the challenges of living with an undiagnosed, disabling, chronic condition and find nuggets of hope amidst the despair. The more I studied the benefits of mindfulness and expanded my gratitude practice, the greater the shifts became.

Three simple ways to begin a gratitude practice.

1. Notice your surroundings

Living mindfully means paying attention to your surroundings and tuning into the present moment.

Photo by Carlos Machado on Unsplash

The more I focused on the present, the more I noticed the good around me:

• the reflections of clouds in the water

• a smile from a stranger

• a kind gesture from a friend

• the scents of fresh laundry from the dryer

These sights, sounds, and feelings became the details I noticed daily, details previously overlooked in my busy corporate life.

2. Focus on small details

While it’s easy to be thankful for good times and happy events: a new job, buying your first home, welcoming a new grandchild, it’s much harder to be grateful for small details.

It’s also easy to get lost in the experiences of the past.

Before becoming ill, there was nothing I enjoyed more than a long run on a Saturday afternoon. But when running was relegated to a favorite pastime, I learned to celebrate the short walks I took instead.

By focusing on small details, I stopped looking back at what had been and focused on the present moment.

It was all I had, and I decided to make the most of it.

3. Share your gratitude

At some point in our lives, we take those closest to us for granted. We turn our despair toward those who remain near us during hard times.

It’s human nature.

The first people to help when I became ill were my parents. They were by my side when I needed them most and remained so throughout the worst of times. While I always appreciated their loving support, I know I didn’t always tell them how much that support meant to me.

I let my illness get the best of me and I got lost in the sorrow.

By practicing mindfulness and gratitude, I learned not to miss the opportunities to thank them for their ongoing support. When others questioned me, they stood by me. When doctors gave up, they helped me look for answers.

A gratitude practice taught me the importance of being present. Instead of feeling sadness for my lost independence, I was grateful for the time I spent with my parents.

A daily gratitude practice helped me uncover many hidden blessings in my illness.

The Benefits of Gratitude

During his decades studying gratitude and its impact on health and well-being, Robert Emmons found that gratitude led to many benefits, including:

• Stronger immune systems

• Lower blood pressure

• Higher levels of positive emotions

• More joy, optimism, happiness, and pleasure

• Feeling less lonely and isolated

While a stronger immune system was not initially one of the benefits I recognized, the rest of his research aligned with my experience.

Through a mindful approach to living, more joy, optimism, hope, and happiness became part of my life despite the limitations of my ongoing medical condition.

Practicing gratitude during the early days of my illness helped me maintain a positive mindset as my world fell apart.

For years, I continued to expand my mindfulness practice, learning from many great teachers and mentors. Each guide enhanced my understanding of the benefits of mindful living and helped me deepen my gratitude for the unexpected events that shape our lives. A gratitude practice has remained a part of my daily routine for the past three decades and was instrumental in transforming my life.

The Power of Change

The Power of Change was launched in October 2022. It’s a growing community for anyone navigating change - a roadmap to build resilience and confidence, live more mindfully, and pursue a joyful life, even when life throws you a curveball.

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Wrap

Thanks so much for joining us today Tracy Mansolillo

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About Tracy Mansolillo

Dedicated to improving lives one at a time, Tracy helps others explore the power to transform, change, heal and thrive. When she’s not writing, she’s a strategic coach, real estate broker and patient advocate.

https://tracymansolillo.substack.com/about