Just One Minute Provides Innumerable Benefits
I know the most outstanding and obscure life hack in the world.
It’s not like some ridiculous “hacks,” for example: “Have a growth mindset.” It’s like saying that “having a private helicopter” is a life hack.
Isn’t a private helicopter (or private jet) a great thing to have? You can travel so much faster and you’ll never get stuck in traffic again. But it isn’t available for common mortals. Yes, everyone can have a private helicopter, but very, very few, can have it right now.
The same goes with a growth mindset. The default in our culture is a fixed mindset. Most of us don’t even realize that we have it, because it’s the norm around. You have no role models and no opportunity to change your attitude. And you don’t just wake up with a new mindset one day!
The Mother of All Hacks
Not many are aware of it and even if they are, they tend to downplay it.
This hack will allow you not to forget that YOU are in control of your happiness, and provide you with a growth mindset.
In fact, it will make everything easier, faster, stronger and better for you as well.
What is more, you need only one minute a day to use this hack and get all those awesome benefits.
And The Hack Is…
You can, of course, use a different method to cultivate gratitude. This one is simply well-documented and proven. It works — it’s amazingly effective, so why bother to reinvent the wheel by looking for other ways to express your gratitude?
Two Facts
Those two facts about gratitude reveal why it’s the über-hack:
Gratitude rewires human brain into positivity.
When the brain is positive, every possible outcome we know how to test for raises dramatically.
There are people in this world who have no other job, but to measure if positive attitude influences specific outcomes. They are called scientists.
They determined that everything gets better and gets better significantly, if your brain is positive.
In the podcast interview with one of them (Shawn Achor, the author of “The Happiness Advantage”) I caught several examples: sales, chances for promotion, health, fitness performance, relationships and grades.
But those are just a few examples. Whatever they tested for, got better.
Every. Single. Time.
Without a fail.
What Gratitude Has to Do with It?
Well, it’s the only sure-fire method to rewire your brain into positivity.
Even if you have a pessimist’s gene.
Even if your whole life experience says that you would better not expect positive outcomes.
It’s enough to keep a gratitude journal for one month in its simplest form — write down three new things you are grateful for — and you WILL become an optimist.
Your brain will be positive.
A world of possibilities will open in front to you!
The Ocean of Possibilities
Maybe you want to help your son who is struggling in third grade in primary school?
Or buy a home for your family?
Change your job and get 30% salary raise? Or just keep your job, and finally get a raise?
Do you want to double your reading speed?
Or meet new people and win some new friends?
Maybe you want to start a new career that comes straight from your childhood dreams, like becoming an author?
Or you are sick of your financial troubles and wish to increase your saving ratio for good?
Would you like to take courses and pass exams to obtain some professional certificates that will help you on a job market?
Do you want to overcome shyness that has been crippling you the whole life?
Or lose some excess weight because it strains your back?
How about doubling your income? Or having a millionaire as your mentor?
Is a deeper spiritual life and more time spent on prayer an appealing perspective for you?
Maybe you want to start a blog?
Or smile much more on an everyday basis?
You Can Have It All
You need only to start your gratitude journal right now, rewire your brain and enjoy the results.
You see, I started my first gratitude journal less than 5 years ago, in September 2012.
All of the above wishes came true in my life since then.
In fact, the list above only scratches the surface. I could have written a thick book tallying all the things that “raised dramatically” in my life in the last few years.
To be exact, I’ve already wrote 15 books explaining how I achieved weight loss, improvement of my son’s school marks, overcame shyness, learned to speed read and shifted my mindset, etc.
The Power of Gratitude is Immense
And it’s so easy to cultivate it. I started my gratitude journey from one journal about my wife where I jotted down 1–3 things about her.
It took me about a minute a day.
Now I dedicate about 10 to 15 minutes a day consciously cultivating gratitude by journaling in three separate notebooks about my wife, my kids and my life.
It feels good.
It provides the results in every area of life. Everything increased in my life, not just measurable outputs. Things that are hard to measure — self-confidence, internal integrity or grit — improved as well.
One minute a day and the life can completely transform for the better!
Keep a gratitude journal, you cannot get more outstanding life hack.
Originally published at www.quora.com.
Originally published at medium.com