The Role of Gratitude in Building Mental Strength

Introduction

Gratitude. The very word has lost its way in recent times. Earlier, gratitude was the first lesson taught to kids both at school and at home. Now, academics and success have taken the driver’s seat in a kid's life. This has resulted in poor mental health, unhappiness, frustration, and mental weakness in many.

Not because their lives were too tough but because they were not tough enough, mentally. Gratitude not only makes one appreciate what they have, but it also teaches them valuable lessons. And one of the valuable lessons is mental strength and toughness. Life only gets more difficult in the 21st century as children grow older.

Parents cannot keep sheltering them and protecting them, so they need to change the narrative. Make your kids strong and tough mentally, instead. Teach them the basics of gratitude and humility in life. For gratitude plays a big role in building mental strength and resilience. Here’s a quick guide to it along with some tips.

The Role Of Gratitude In Building Mental Strength

Gratitude is a healthy, thankful appreciation of what an individual already has or is receiving, irrespective of whether it’s tangible or intangible. When a child is grateful, he or she finds goodness and positivity in small things in life, even on the toughest day.

This positive mindset helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals, like a higher power, nature, or simply the art of happiness. When a person is grateful, they are not necessarily happy. Happiness is a fleeting sensation of positivity and excitement. Gratitude combines the beauty of humility, kindness, and appreciation with a positive outlook.

It helps lower levels of stress hormones and dispels anxieties from the mind. While it is easier said than done, practice and mindfulness help one get better at it. And when a person has the ability to face a bad day and still find something good in it, they are mentally strong enough to face any curveball life throws at them.

Mental strength or toughness prepares kids to overcome any obstacles or hurdles that come their way. It helps them not get overwhelmed or succumb to the pressure. When one is truly grateful for what they have, nothing can shake their belief.

For example, your child may have suffered a bad grade because of an illness, but they do not give in to their failure. Instead of being upset, they are grateful for the lesson learned. Despite feeling humble and a little low, they work hard on acing their next test. Their hard work pays off, and they end up balancing their yearly scores and doing well.

Tips For Developing Gratitude In Kids To Boost Mental Toughness

• Teach your kids gratitude journaling. This involves taking a journal of their choice and writing down all that they are grateful for that day. Though it will take only 5-10 minutes, it will greatly help your kid inculcate gratitude and track their progress.
• If you or your child has had a really bad day, try not to lash out. Instead, offer a hot beverage and let the other person communicate. After they have given their piece of mind, ask them to recall something that happened and that they are grateful for that day. It can be their morning cup of chocolate milk or their friend's yummy tiffin, but they must try to figure out at least one thing they are grateful for. This will automatically take a lot of focus off their anxiety triggers and set your kids on the path to positivity.
• Take your kids volunteering every few months at orphanages and animal shelters. Let them take in the less-privileged living conditions of many and understand how lucky and blessed they are for all that they have in life, from a healthy body to a loving family.
• Try to engage your kids in meditation and use guided scripts to try to inculcate mindful gratitude. While most people thank one another throughout the day, they do so without thinking instinctively. While instinct is good, the lack of focus is not. Make them understand the value of every ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry’. This will make life and social dynamics a lot easier for your kids.
• Practice gratitude mindfully with your kids daily. It can be anything, from thanking the person who prepared the meal to being grateful for the dessert they are about to have. While these small things may not seem much, they have a bigger impact on family bonding and mental strength than many realize.

Conclusion

Gratitude is both a feeling and a trait. And it should be experienced and employed daily to turn it into a healthy habit for kids. So, give this guide and the above tips a try to improve your child's mental strength by granting gratitude the credit it deserves, after making good use of it.

References

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/gratitude.htm