Practice Gratitude (For Athletes)

Hey Just Tri Tribe!

'Tis the season for gathering with loved ones, counting our blessings, and practicing gratitude. Learning to practice gratitude effectively can be an absolute game-changer. Gratitude research shows tremendous positive effects on relationships with ourselves and others, mental and physical health, and performance-related outcomes in sport. It can also help us feel more satisfied in life and boost our self-esteem. 

Gratitude is especially important for athletes. An athlete who regularly practices gratitude will recognize and be thankful for how various aspects of their sport and team environments affect their life. More on this below.

The benefits of gratitude: an increase in subjective wellbeing (i.e. self relationship and self care), enhanced resilience to trauma in sport and life, deeper social relationships (i.e. prosocial behavior) and stronger neurochemical function and anti-inflammatory responses (i.e. increases in alertness and decreases in recovery time).

What is Gratitude?

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines gratitude as “the state of being grateful.” To expand on that, Harvard Medical School defines gratitude as “a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives... As a result, gratitude also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals–whether to other people, nature, or a higher power”. Common gratitude synonyms are acknowledgment, appreciativeness, and thankfulness.

Gratitude is a multidimensional extension of positive psychology. It encompasses emotion, personality traits, and coping responses. Practicing gratitude is less about expressing what you're grateful for, but more about being open to receiving it from others (i.e. genuine thankfulness) and experiencing empathy.

Why is Gratitude Important for Athletes?

Regularly practicing gratitude can boost sports performance. Research shows that major contributors to positive psychology and optimal mental health are being kind to yourself and to others, and expressing gratitude. Athletes who show compassion and gratitude enable themselves to manage the demands of their sport and life. Through their routine gratitude practice, they gain perspective. Younger grateful athletes show increased satisfaction with their teams, higher states of wellbeing and little to no signs of burnout.

Reasons why you should cultivate an attitude for gratitude:

1. Gratitude inspires humility. Grateful athletes become more about the we and less about the me. It stirs them away from entitlement and more towards service.

2. Gratitude fosters emotional control. Grateful athletes will experience more positive emotions. The power of positive psychology can decrease stress, promote problem-solving, and boost self-regulation.  

3. Gratitude facilitates positive team cultures. Gratefulness is contagious and develops a positive team environment. The more compassionate, generous, and kind players you have within your team, the greater the impact on inter-squad relationships and overall team performances. 

4. Gratitude promotes self-care. Grateful athletes take care of their bodies and have an increased capacity to tolerate aches and pain. These athletes tend to sleep more, which boosts their recovery, alertness and ability to focus during training and competition. All leading to increases in their performance potential.

Building an Effective Narrative-Based Practice

The human brain is oriented toward story and storytelling. The best way to practice gratitude is by telling or writing an inspiring story or listening to or observing someone else's experience during a time of struggle and receiving help or helping someone where they were genuinely thankful. The provoked emotions you experience after telling, hearing, or witnessing these stories are fundamental to the positive physiological changes (i.e. prefrontal cortex) of a gratitude practice. 

Let's break it down: Keep a "gratitude journal" and answer the following questions after experiencing a situation that left you feeling thankful.

1. Describe the struggle/situation?

2. What was the help? Who helped?

3. How did it impact you emotionally?

It's recommended to practice gratitude for at least 1-5 minutes, three times a week. 

Narrative-Based Gratitude Practice Summary:

- Recall a story or lived experience that you felt genuinely thankful or observed someone expressing genuine thanks (a narrative in your gratitude journal)

- Reflect for 1-5 minutes (uninterrupted)

- Practice 3x/week

- Make it a part of your daily routine (i.e. when you first wake up, before going to bed, during an easy run, etc.)

Introducing a Gratitude Practice to Your Team

Coaches, you can guide effective gratitude practices for your players too. This practice is great for teams and programs that are just beginning their gratitude journeys. All you need to do is ask your players to write and deliver a letter of thanks to a teammate or someone in their life who had been especially kind and helpful to them within their athletic journey (i.e. someone who might not have received proper thanks).

Gratitude Practice Instructions:

1. Think of someone (on the team or in your life) who did something important and wonderful for you, during a time of need.
2. Reflect on the benefits you received from this person, and write a letter expressing your gratitude for everything they have done for you.
3. Plan to deliver the letter personally (in person) and spend some time with this person talking about what you wrote.

Expressing gratitude, in such a way, will help the players appreciate what they’ve received in life (in and out of sports), and it also helps them feel like they have given something back to those who helped them along the way. Hand-delivering a letter of thanks can foster a sincere, heartfelt interaction that will deepen that relationship and permeate into all areas of their life (and collectively enriching the team culture).

Building a robust capacity for gratitude isn’t difficult. All it takes is intentional and genuine practice. The more you can bring your attention to the lived experiences that left you feeling, observing, and expressing thankfulness, the greater the overall effect.

Thank you for reading my blog! I'm grateful you're here and serving you brings me joy :)

Have a great week, get some movement in, and as always, Just Tri!!

Yours in Sport,

Lindsay

P.S. Help support and grow my business by following the Just Tri Performance social media pages on Instagram, TikTok, and subscribe on YouTube!!

Instagram: @just_tri365 | TikTok: @justtri_performance | YouTube