Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving from Gwen & I here at Rewrite & Rise! We hope you have an amazing Thanksgiving with your loved ones!

Second of all, it would be the Heroes Digest without some Neuroscience!

Gratitude & the Brain

While you’re with your friends & family today, I wanted to give you some of the science behind why it feels so great to be grateful!

Key Brain Benefits from Gratitude:

• Better Sleep

• Improved Immunity

• More Positive Emotions

• Stronger Relationships

• Increased Resiliency

• Increased Empathy

• Lower Blood Pressure

• Improved Self Esteem

• Improved Mental & Emotional Health

These effects can be seen 3 months after a gratitude practice like writing a letter of gratitude to someone…

These effects are caused by synchronized activation of lots of key brain areas like the limbic system, the hypothalamus, the prefrontal cortex, and many other reward areas!

This activation produces a boost in the neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and oxytocin, creating beautiful alpha brainwaves that relax us!

Thanksgiving Brain Exercise

1. First thing Thanksgiving morning, take a couple of moments to write down five things you were truly grateful for

2. Take 90sec to breathe slowly & deeply as you consider each one, one at a time

3. Ask yourself what your life would be like without that person, place, or thing

4. Take a moment to experience the contrast of valuing what you have versus what your life would be like without

5. Notice how it deepens feelings of gratitude

6. Continue to breathe deeply and come back to the item you’re focusing on

7. Feel the feeling of gratitude in your body not just the idea of it

8. Offer an inner statement of thanks

9. Do the same to each item on the list of five and see how you feel.

This will allow you to produce the beautiful, calming alpha brain wave state we talked about above and perhaps experience Thanksgiving far more deeply.

I’m Grateful For You

High on my list, this morning was you.

Thank you for subscribing to the Heroes Digest! Thank you for taking your life into your own hands and living Heroically.

I’m so grateful to have you in our community & that I get to serve you each week here on the blog!

Gwen & I wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving, and… Of course…

Until next time… Live Heroically! 🧠