“You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.” -James Clear

Your habits are the “systems” in your life. And at RxFIT, we have a few different systems that we practice daily, weekly, and monthly.

“Bright Spots Friday” is one of those weekly habits we practice with the intention of being grateful. Every Friday in our private facebook group, we talk about what things we made happen during the week that are worth celebrating.

It’s almost a cliché nowadays, but the power of positive thought can’t be overstated.

A 2017 Study

In 2017, a study on how gratitude affects both the mind and body was conducted. Participants were broken up into three groups:

• Group One wrote a gratitude letter to another person every week for three weeks.
• Group Two wrote about their thoughts and feelings about negative experiences.
• Group Three didn’t write anything.

I’m summarizing here, but the study’s findings concluded that gratitude does four things:

1. Gratitude disconnects us from toxic, negative emotions and the ruminating that often accompanies them. Writing a letter “shifts our attention” so that our focus is on positive emotions.

2. Expressing gratitude helps us even if we don’t explicitly share it with someone. We’re happier and more satisfied with life because we completed the exercise.

3. The positive effects of gratitude writing compound like interest. You might not notice the benefit of a daily or weekly practice, but after several weeks and months, you will.

4. A gratitude practice trains the brain to be more in tune with experiencing gratitude — a positive plus a positive, equal more positives.

Takeaway

Join us every week in practicing “Bright Spot Friday” in your home or on your own.

Tyler