In a previous video we illustrated how the state of happiness occurs when the balance of emotions is such that the pleasant emotions are stronger than the unpleasant emotions.
By adding pleasant emotions into your experience, you can influence the overall balance of your emotions and your overall mood.
One quick and easy way to add pleasant emotions to your mix of emotions is in the practice of gratitude.
Gratitude occurs when you give thanks for a present or past event.
Let us illustrate this with an example of an event:
Let us imagine that you cook a meal for your family.
Your family enjoys the meal.
You are pleased with yourself.
Now you can express gratitude for this event.
Your internal dialogue could play out something like this:
Thank you for having my family around my table.
Thank you for me being able to see their smiles.
Thank you for my ability to cook.
Thank you for me being able to find the right ingredients.
Thank you for me having the money to buy the ingredients.
After expressing the gratitude, you may feel additional emotions. For example:
Feeling love for your family
Feeling connected with your family
Feeling a sense of giving
Feeling appreciated by your family.
By expressing gratitude, you have caused yourself to feel a whole lot of positive emotions.
And we know that these feelings will help to tip the balance of emotions towards the happiness side.
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