The Power of Gratitude During Transitions

Practicing gratitude during transitions is crucial: it can help you acknowledge the good in your life when things are moving, you’re losing your anchors and the roots you’ve been planted before are being removed and waiting to be planted somewhere else. Packing up and leaving a home, changing careers, or restarting a new job all come with an emotional transition. Feeling anxious, overwhelmed and having mood swings are common - you’re going through a lot!

Cultivating positive emotions and practicing gratitude will give you a fresh perspective, it will feel like fresh air in the mids of the chaos. Physiologically, your brain cannot respond to negative emotions (fear, anxiety, stress) and positive emotions (gratitude) at the same time. So, if you're practicing gratitude, you have a way to reduce anxiety, frustration and feeling overwhelmed - all that’s likely to appear when you’re transitioning between homes, jobs or life stages.

Here are three unconventional and simple ways to express gratitude during transitions:

1 - Share three things you’re grateful for with your spouse in the evenings

Do it even if it feels like you’ve had the most difficult day! If you live alone, whatsapp a friend, or post it on social. I’ve done daily gratitude posts on insta when I was about to depart from Berlin. It’s powerful how this simple practice evolves!

2 - ’Thank you’ is a simple and powerful mantra

Say it out loud whenever you can with awareness: when you’re getting your freshly brewed coffee when you’re receiving career advice, even when you’ve just watched a YouTube video. Expressing thankfulness stimulates the mind to acknowledge that you’ve enough which will naturally direct your mind to notice more opportunities and strengthen the feeling of contentment.

3 - Express gratitude through actions

Send a postcard or give a gift to someone who’s helped you during your transition, or support them with referrals to be able to help others too. Giving back also positively triggers the principle of reciprocity: when you give, you’ll receive. Often it’s not a direct exchange, but it’s most likely that the more you give, the more you’ll experience receiving: hints, opportunities, job offers, an event to attend, a flat referral, or a link to an article that’ll contribute you moving forward in your transition.

How will you express your gratitude today?