Gratitude

At our core we most crave gratitude from having fulfilled our sense of purpose.

Mind Map

Happiness

The most effective gratitude practice is reliant on recalling a vivid story of recieving thanks for the good things you have done.

Engineer flow to deliver happiness.

Flow is a concept in positive psychology introduced by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. It refers to a state of complete immersion in an activity, where an individual is so focused that everything else seems to fade away. Time appears to pass swiftly, and the activity itself becomes a reward.

Strategy

Strategies for achieving flow include:

• Practice: Mindfulness and flow both require a focus on the present moment. Mindfulness, like flow, involves paying close attention to what's happening in the here and now, without judgment. By practicing mindfulness, you can increase your ability to achieve a state of flow.
• Perspective: Correct Misconceptions about Happiness, understanding that true happiness doesn't stem from external factors like wealth or possessions can help you focus on activities you genuinely enjoy and are passionate about, increasing the chances of experiencing flow.
• Data: Adopt Evidence-Based Strategies, many of these strategies can aid in achieving flow. For example, setting clear goals, receiving immediate feedback, and choosing tasks that match your skills - all evidence-based strategies - can facilitate flow states.
• Commitment: Avoid overloading oneself with too many activities or responsibilities can distract focus and prevent flow. By maintaining a balanced lifestyle, you provide yourself with opportunities to engage deeply in activities, potentially leading to flow.
• Connection: Prioritize Positive Social Interactions, while flow is often associated with individual tasks, it can also occur in social settings, such as team sports or group projects. Positive interactions and relationships can enhance these experiences.
• Technology: Learn to use technology, don't become used by it. Excessive use of social media can be a significant distraction, preventing deep focus on tasks and hence, the achievement of flow. By managing and limiting social media usage, you can create more opportunities for uninterrupted focus.
• Gratitude: Practice Gratitude improve overall well-being and happiness, creating a positive mindset that might facilitate the ability to reach flow states.
• Leadership: Model Positive Emotions to coach others to solve problems, guiding them to engage deeply in tasks, promoting flow states. Modeling calmness and positivity fosters an environment conducive to achieving flow.

Benefits

Receiving gratitude is the most powerful and positive impactful drug we can experience. Effective practice promotes pro-social circuits which reduce anxiety and stress. Pro-social modes of thinking and behavior have the following benefits:

• Increase motivation
• Improve neural circuits in the brain
• Anti-inflammatory markers in the body
• Brain-heart breathing coordination

Practice

The practice has to be grounded in a narrative. You don't have to recite the story everytime you practice but you need to know the story well. In the story you need to be receiving genuine thanks. It has to be you, it has to be genuine.

Write down three or four bullet points that serve as sallient reminders of that story. The key objective is to have cues that remind you of the story without having to replay the whole story in your mind. Elements to bullet point:

• describe emotional state before gratitude
• describe emotional state after gratitude was received
• add any elements that add emotion to the story

tip

The key point is to trigger your nervous system to feel a deep sense of gratitude.

Attempt to spend 1 to 5 minutes maintaining a state of connection with that feeling of gratitude. Repeat this process at least three times a week, time of day is not important.