How a glass half full can fundamentally improve your life: One strategy and three exercises

The famous question of whether a glass Half full or half empty is usually used to illustrate pessimism and optimism.

There are people who, by nature, tend to see the glass half full and find it easy to be grateful even for small things. And then there are others who tend to see what could be improved and optimised and for whom it is not so easy to see and be grateful for the good things that already exist.

Gratitude is such a great gift that you can give yourself and others. I have also explored this topic in my Inspiration mail this week. I would now like to go into more depth here.

Gratitude can be practised

Research proves it: One of the attitudes you can leverage most effectively is the emotion of gratitude. A grateful feeling is the result of a grateful mindset. Consciously and actively practising gratitude on a regular basis has measurable effects on health and well-being. If it were a medicine, every doctor would prescribe it. 

No matter how you are naturally wired, gratitude is a muscle that can be trained and - if you strengthen it - has a positive impact on your whole life. In this blog post, I want to give you a practical and helpful strategy that is simple and works. I hope that it will help you to live your life more powerfully and happily. Have fun with it!

The benefits of gratitude

Why should you train gratitude at all?

When we are grateful, we look at the good in the world and in our lives. This has been soundly researched scientifically: the side effects of gratitude are 

• Lower blood pressure.
• A better immune system.
• Better relationships. 
• And, of course, a better mood.

Is it even possible to measure whether someone is grateful and how much? 

Researchers use the GQ6 method, for example, to investigate whether, how intensely and for what people feel gratitude. The questions asked are:

the assessment of

• Persons
• Ownership
• of the moment
• of rituals
• feelings of awe
• social differences
• existential fears and also from
• Behaviour that expresses gratitude.  

GRAT - another method - assesses gratitude towards other people, towards the world in general and the absence of dissatisfaction about what you don't have. 

The results of the research are clear:

People with a high level of gratitude experience more well-being than those who are rather dissatisfied. They simply feel better. They are happier, suffer less stress and are generally more satisfied with their lives. Grateful people sleep better, presumably because they have more positive thoughts before falling asleep. 

In addition to the various behaviours studied, gratitude has the absolute strongest link to mental health.

An attitude of gratitude actively combats stress, depression and even depression. A study has shown that consciously practising gratitude with the help of a gratitude diary has just as strong a mood-lifting effect as mild antidepressants.

It is therefore worth practising gratitude.

Dominion over the moment is dominion over life. Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach

One strategy: change of perspective

There is a classic recommendation to write down three things you are grateful for every day. If you have my Inspiration mail then you may have already done this exercise (I have increased it to 5 things). You have been able to observe and try out its effectiveness on yourself. If you haven't done it yet, why not give it a try now?

So how do you feel now?

I like the effect of this simple exercise. But the following is even more effective:

Imagine there are two glasses of your favourite drink in front of you. One half full. And one half empty. I give you one. Which one did you get?

• Are you sad that you only got half a glass of your favourite drink?
• Or are you happy that you got your favourite drink?

Feelings are influenced by what we look at. If we look at the negative, we feel sad and depressed. If we look at beautiful things, we feel joy. When we feel joy, then

• we can concentrate better
• our immune system is stronger 
• We are generally fit and round
• up to 30 % more powerful

- without having to make more effort.

This is why the strategy of changing perspectives is very effective, because:

The world is never just the way it is, but always the way we perceive it. 

Here are three exercises that can help you apply this strategy:

Exercise 1: Grateful for what you still have.

People can choose. They can focus on the few things that are actually bad in their own lives - or consciously consider the things that are going well. This starts with your own body. You can be grateful for all the cells, bones and blood vessels that keep your body functioning in a fantastic way. Or you can complain about the parts of your body that aren't working so well. If you look at what you have, you will be grateful.

Exercise 2: Comparing downwards makes you grateful upwards.

A quick way to become dissatisfied is to compare yourself with people who - seemingly - have more than you: more money, more friends, more children, more energy, more success, etc. Gratitude, on the other hand, grows when you compare yourself with the many people who have less than you: less education, less health, fewer rights, ... 

Comparing your own living conditions with what other people suffer can make you grateful. And encourage people to act. You can help to alleviate some of the hardship. That is another reason to be grateful.

Exercise 3: Become envious of yourself

Imagine that you are not yourself, but someone else who is not as well off as you are, either materially or emotionally. Think about what a person in this situation might envy. Feel intensely how much good you have in comparison and perhaps write it down.

In line with the current topic from our ????????????????????-???????????????????????????? ???????????? ???? + ???? ???????????????????????????????????????????????????????? I write a weekly newsletter and blog post. All our books, quadros and courses are based on the concept. The current one is part of the life element Reflection & Alignment.

Being grateful is worthwhile. I have the course DAN. Gratefully take everything developed.

You will receive 2 lessons per week to inspire and guide you,

Because we have revised the course and there may still be one or two errors, you will receive a 20% discount until the end of the month if you use the code imperfectly grateful enter.

For all those who want meaning and hope during Advent, there are 24 world changers in a beautiful box, from which you can pull a booklet every day: from Bach to Gutenberg and Sophie Scholl to Margarete Steiff. Hope every day. Ideal for a sustainable Advent season: the Weltveränderer impulse booklets invite you to reflect on ideals, meaning, values and commitment to others. And expand general knowledge at the same time.

To give as a gift or give to yourself.

G E N E R A L S P I E LWe are giving away a World Changer Advent Calendar worth 58 euros.here's how it works: Register now for the Inspiration mail on. And give your friends the tip to sign up for the Inspiration mail to register. Everyone who registers between today and 21 November has the chance to win a Weltveränder Advent calendar.