5 things I’m grateful for, and why you should practice gratitude too

The benefits of gratitude are profound

Photo by Polina Kuzovkova on Unsplash

There’s a lot of things in my life which I am lucky to have. Even though some people may look at me and think I am unlucky because of my disability. However, the truth is no matter how bad things are there’s always someone who has it worse. So in this post I’m going to write 5 things that I am grateful for.

1. Assistive technology: without assistive technology I wouldn’t be able to use my computer independently. I use a hands-free mouse called Headmouse Nano (which I wrote a review of here) where I can move the mouse by moving my head. I have a reflective sticker on my glasses which reflects a infrared light to the camera on my reduce monitor so it follows the sticker to move the mouse. I also use Dragon NaturallySpeaking to type which lets me type quickly and easily. Being able to use my PC independently lets me do similar things like reading e-books, watching movies, playing games, browsing the web. Without it all I would probably be very bored and much less connected to people.

2. Living in the countryside: I live in a village in the countryside which is very peaceful. The air is much cleaner than in a city and I am surrounded by nature which is great. The drawback is that I need to get someone to drive me if I want to go to the nearest city which is 8 miles away but that’s not too bad. I think it’s worth it for not having so much air pollution and noise like you get in cities.

3. Friends: I don’t have a lot of friends but the ones I do have are kind and thoughtful. They seem to enjoy spending time with me and make the effort to hang out. I appreciate it because I can feel a bit isolated sometimes. I don’t find it easy to make new friends so any friends that I do have are welcome.

4. My Mum: my mom does a lot for me which I can’t do for myself like organising therapists or financial stuff. She also cooks food for me and buys me clothes when I need them. Not least she is always around providing emotional support when I need it.

5. My health: yes I am in a wheelchair but I am not paralysed and I can breathe on my own. There are many things that I can physically do that other people can’t. I am able to exercise on my exercise bike which helps to keep me healthy. Other quadriplegics are not able to do that. So I am very lucky because it could easily have been much worse. I could have died in the car accident that I was in when I was 6. So everything since then has been a bonus.

Gratitude journalling

I use an app on my phone called Gratitude, aptly enough. It gives you prompts every day to write about different things for which you are grateful. This helps me to build a gratitude habit every day which is good for your health both mentally and physically.

You don’t have to use an app on your phone but it’s the easiest way for me to do it. You could write down bullet points of what you are grateful for in a paper notebook if you wanted. Or do random acts of kindness for people.

Scientific basis of gratitude

A study carried out by Harvard involving 49,000 women found that those who felt the most grateful had a 9% lower chance of dying in the following 4 years. So being grateful can literally help you live longer.

According to this article by UCLA gratitude can have the following benefits:

· Reduce depression

· decreases anxiety

· improve sleep

· relieves stress

· supports heart health

Gratitude also helps you feel happier and literally rewire his brain so that you noticed good things in your life more often. Sounds like a much better way of living to me and a no-brainer.

That’s why I’m going to continue with my gratitude habit and try to think about what I am grateful for every day. I encourage you to do the same.

What things are you grateful for? Let me know in the comments!