Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to find a gratitude partner. Share what
Speaker 1: you're grateful for with a friend or family member who
Speaker 1: in turn shares what he's grateful for with you. By
Speaker 1: doing so, you'll help each other notice and appreciate what's
Speaker 1: good in your lives. Today's tip, like several others this week,
Speaker 1: comes from Sonya Luba Mirsky's book The How of Happiness,
Speaker 1: a scientific approach to getting the life you want. According
Speaker 1: to Luba Mirski, gratitude contributes to happiness for a few reasons. First,
Speaker 1: she writes, grateful thinking promotes the savoring of positive life experiences.
Speaker 1: By relishing and taking pleasure in some of the gifts
Speaker 1: of your life, you will be able to extract maximum
Speaker 1: possible sat faction and enjoyment from your current circumstances. In addition,
Speaker 1: she notes, gratitude boosts self worth we realize how much
Speaker 1: we have accomplished and how much others have done for us. Further,
Speaker 1: gratitude nurtures relationships because it helps us feel appreciative of
Speaker 1: each other. Gratitude also helps us avoid downwards social comparison.
Speaker 1: We're less worried that someone else is better off than
Speaker 1: we are because we're grateful for our own circumstances. Having
Speaker 1: a gratitude partner is one method for boosting your gratitude
Speaker 1: and in turn, boosting your happiness. Here's how it works. First,
Speaker 1: as your grandmother probably encouraged you to do, count your blessings.
Speaker 1: Perhaps every morning or every Saturday afternoon, you identify good
Speaker 1: things in your life that you're grateful for. Maybe it's
Speaker 1: the relative harmony in your household despite being in each
Speaker 1: other's company. Maybe it's having a stable job that you
Speaker 1: can do remotely. Maybe it's having enough food or the
Speaker 1: mild weather that lets you enjoy exercising outside, or video
Speaker 1: calls with your best friends from college. Name your blessings,
Speaker 1: savor them, and then Lubamerski encourages finding what she calls
Speaker 1: a gratitude partner with whom you can share your blessings list.
Speaker 1: You might text your gratitude partner a simple list, such
Speaker 1: as one sunny day means I can walk outside, two
Speaker 1: job security. Three Amy asked me to teach her to
Speaker 1: use the sewing machine. My twelve year old wants to
Speaker 1: spend time with me. Or maybe you create a shared
Speaker 1: Google doc that you each have access to and you
Speaker 1: log your blessings there. Or perhaps you have a grandchild
Speaker 1: or another special child in your life who is learning
Speaker 1: to write. Each week you send him a postcard with
Speaker 1: what you're grateful for and invite him to write you
Speaker 1: back with what he's grateful for. What a fun way
Speaker 1: to nurture your relationship and his writing skills all at once.
Speaker 1: Of course, you could record what you're grateful for independently,
Speaker 1: but having a gratitude partner creates accountability. A partner also
Speaker 1: doubles your exposure to good things because you become aware
Speaker 1: of what your partner is grateful for. If she's thankful
Speaker 1: that the honeysuckle vines are about to bloom, you can
Speaker 1: keep your eyes and nose open so that you're ready
Speaker 1: to save for them as well. If she has fallen
Speaker 1: in love with a new podcast, well maybe you should
Speaker 1: check it out too. So today think about who might
Speaker 1: become your gratitude partner, and then let me know how
Speaker 1: it goes. You can reach me at Before Breakfast podcast
Speaker 1: at ihart media dot com. In the meantime, this is Laura,
Speaker 1: Thanks for listening and here's to making the most of
Speaker 1: our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you.
Speaker 1: You can send me your tips, your questions, or anything else.
Speaker 1: Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast pod. That's b the number four, then Breakfast
Speaker 1: p o D. You can also shoot me an email
Speaker 1: at Before Breakfast podcast at i heeart media dot com
Speaker 1: that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all the letters.
Speaker 1: Thanks so much, I look forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 1: Before Breakfast is a production of I heart Radio. For
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