Cultivating Gratitude: Supporting Resilience This Holiday Season

 

As Thanksgiving approaches, it marks the beginning of the winter holiday season - a time often filled with celebration, connection, and reflection. Yet for many, this season can also bring stress, sadness, anxiety, or even depression. Family gatherings may stir up tension or painful memories, and the emotional and financial pressures of meeting expectations can feel overwhelming.

 

In these moments, practicing gratitude can be a powerful tool for restoring balance and emotional well-being. At Acknowledge Alliance, our resilience consultants regularly emphasize gratitude as a simple yet powerful way to nurture mental health.

 

Research consistently shows that gratitude is linked to greater happiness and improved relationships. People who regularly reflect on what they’re thankful for often experience better sleep, more patience, and an increased sense of optimism.

 

As part of our Project Resilience social-emotional learning lessons, our resilience consultants remind students how practicing gratitude can help us rewire our brains to focus on what is strong instead of what is wrong:
 

“Our brains are wired to think negative thoughts first, to keep us alive and safe. It’s harder to think positive thoughts, we have to work at it. We have to practice thinking positively to be able to think positively more often.”
 

Join Our 7-Day Gratitude Challenge!

This month, we invite our family of supporters to take part in our 7-Day Gratitude Challenge. Each day, set aside a few moments to notice something that brings you joy, comfort, or strength.

How to participate:

Day 1: Write down three things (big or small) that brought you joy today.

Day 2: Tell someone (in person, by text, or in a note) why you appreciate them.

Day 3: Notice something beautiful in your surroundings and pause to enjoy it.

Day 4: Reflect on a challenge you have overcome and what it taught you.

Day 5: Share gratitude as a family or class by going around and naming one thing you are thankful for.

Day 6: Practice self-gratitude by writing down one thing you value about yourself.

Day 7: Reflect on how this week of gratitude has made you feel. Have you noticed any changes in your mood or perspective?

Share your reflections with us by tagging @AcknowledgeAlliance. Let’s inspire each other to focus on the good around us and within us!