Gratitude positively connects us to the future!

Our memories are moments in time that are preserved to make us stronger, well-rounded beings. Those cherished moments are built from a number of different factors. Four of the most important of these elements are our thoughts, our feelings, our behaviour and our physical state.

When we have a negative mindset our negative thoughts will cause negative emotions and behavioural patterns, and this will negatively affect our physical state and we will create negative memories.

If our default setting is positive this will also start a positive chain reaction with our emotions, behaviour and physical state. This in turn will create positive happy memories.

When we practise deep gratitude and live gratefully, we put kindness and gratitude at the heart of everything we do. We will start this chain reaction from a much more positive place.

It all starts with how you think about a situation. It is often easier to see the situation negatively, which leads to negative chain reactions, but if we start from a positive point the whole reactive process will be more positive.

We will be looking for the kindness of others in order to give us the opportunity to show gratitude. This will not only make us kinder ourselves, but it will also start the ripple effect of gratitude in others.

Our emotions will be more positive as a result, we will be more grateful, happier and more optimistic. When we live in a positive moment we will be less worried about the past and less anxious about the future. This positive state will fire up the pro-social neural networks that focus on curiosity and connectedness, rather than the fight, flight or freeze / defence neural protection.

These positive emotions will have a good effect on our behaviour too. We will become more social, better team members and better partners. Being grateful makes us less isolated and self-absorbed. We realise that it's okay to be vulnerable and as humans we need each other to get through life's challenges.

All of this will have a beneficial effect on our physical state too. When we practise deep gratitude, we are more likely to take better care of ourselves, get more exercise, eat better and sleep better. We will have more energy and this can even strengthen our immune system.

If we want happier memories to look back on, we need to make those changes now, so we are building a better bridge to the future. By living gratefully, we are storing up positivity for us to look back on favourably at a future time.

We can start a positive chain reaction with the way we think about our current situation, looking for the kindness of others, and rewarding that kindness with gratitude will improve our psychological, emotional, social and physical health.

So, let's create those future memories, building bridges from the present to the future, making sure we have great moments to look back on by shifting our mindset now to a more positive one by practising deep gratitude, for a better life now and for a better more meaningful, happier, healthier life in the time to come!