Why saying “Al’hamdulillah” makes us happier?
You’ve probably already heard about gratitude’s positive impact on happiness. While it’s important to reflect on what made you happy during the day (or the week/month/year), luckily you don’t have to keep a gratitude journal or download an app to reap the benefits of being grateful. You can just do as Arabs do, which is to say thank you to anyone who even remotely deserves it and say “al hamdulilah” whenever things unfold better than the worst-case scenario. People in the Arab world never pass up an occasion to express their gratitude, whether it’s to someone or to God. Doing so strengthens their social bonds and relationships, as well as their faith in life.
When you’re going through tough times or you just want to feel better, writing a gratitude letter to someone is an efficient way to lift your spirits, as it releases serotonin – the feel-good hormone – which helps relieve stress and anxiety. Studies even show that gratitude can improve your heart health, boost your immune system and even prevent cognitive impairment. If you feel you haven’t been grateful enough in the past, always remember that it’s never too late to say thank you, even for something that happened years ago!
Take action: call or write to someone to thank them about something you forgot to thank them about.
In case you don’t feel you have anything to be grateful for, here are some examples that can inspire you: you can feel grateful for just being alive, for having a family member or a friend who’s there for you, for having food on your plate, for sleeping in clean sheets, for smelling something nice, for watching a beautiful sunset, for having a mobile or a computer to read this on, for being able to read (many people in the region are unfortunately not that lucky)…
If you keep reminding yourself just how many things you have to be grateful for, you’ll notice and attract even more things that’ll make you want to say “Al’Hamdulilah”!
If you enjoyed reading this article, please share it with your friends and networks using the little icons below.
