Gratitude Anchor

As the new year begins, many of us are looking forward to the shift into the new. The idea that we can leave 2020 behind is REALLY appealing. However, when we woke up on January 1, nothing had changed except the number in the date. Many individuals continue to live in fear and anxiety with the events of 2020 still looming. It is causing people to be even more “short-fused” than normal.

One of the strongest tools that I used to get through 2020 is something called a gratitude anchor. In any moment of stress or frustration, you will take 3 simple steps:

1. Stop.
   When we are experiencing a challenging situation, the general tendency is to catastrophize. We build a story of all the things that are going wrong and push the snowball down the hill. Annoyance becomes resentment, which becomes anger… and the snowball keeps building. Rather than walking down this path, stop. Recognize that this experience is being created and pause the spiraled thinking.

2. Take 3 deep breaths.
   Slowing your breath down will allow your heart rate and blood pressure to decrease. This slowing sends the signal to your brain to calm down which prevents the activation of your amygdala (the emotional epicenter of your brain) and allows you to stay in the thinking/ logical part of your brain.

3. Identify one thing you can be grateful for at this moment.
   Now that you can think clearly, find one thing that you are thankful for in this current moment. Ideally, it is about this moment or the person that you are interacting with but it can be anything that comes to mind. Let that feeling of appreciation flood your mind.

When you put all 3 of these steps together, it can diffuse an emotional reaction quickly. I recommend that you start small- don’t expect this to work in a blowout with another person if you have never tried it before. Start in those moments of minor annoyance- the line at the store, the meeting that should have been an email- just to build some traction.

As we practice gratitude into a new year, this could be an opportunity to truly create a new you!