Carpe Diem: Gratitude Lessons from a Global Pause
- Dr Vernice Richards
- Mar 19, 2020
- 3 min read
Updated: 7 days ago
Original May 2020 - Updated May 2025
Remember the stillness of lockdown?
When the world hit pause, and our routines, plans, and sense of certainty vanished overnight?That shared moment—full of uncertainty, disruption, and disconnection—also quietly gave us something else:An invitation to see differently.
Back then, many of us were:
Quarantined and working from home
Practicing social distancing
Grieving cancelled plans and missing human contact
Feeling anxious, restless, and bored
Struggling to hold onto any kind of routine or motivation
And yet, amidst the chaos, one simple mental skill proved to be a powerful stabilizer: Gratitude.
Why Gratitude Still Matters.
While the urgency of the pandemic may have passed, the lessons haven’t. We still face unpredictable stress, invisible responsibilities, and emotional fatigue, especially those of us in high-performance roles, caregiving positions, or leadership.
Gratitude isn’t just a mood-booster. It’s a performance enhancer with effects across all domains of well-being:
✅ Physically, it...
Boosts immune system function
Improves sleep quality
Eases muscle tension and chronic aches
Helps regulate stress response
✅ Socially, it...
Increases likability and empathy
Enhances the depth of relationships
Strengthens connection and community
✅ Psychologically, it...
Elevates mood and optimism
Promotes self-awareness
Reduces anxiety, depression, and emotional overwhelm
✅ Neurologically, it...
Builds new neural connections
Supports emotion regulation
Boosts serotonin and dopamine (your feel-good hormones)
GRATITUDE
Practicing an attitude of gratitude can literally transform your brain, your body and your mind!! In fact, practicing gratitude daily, has scientifically showed an increase in overall happiness and mental health. This is true for ‘normal’ individuals and those that have diagnosed mental health issues. It decreases the levels of and the of experience of depression, anxiety and grief.
The Benefits of practicing Gratitude are endless when consistent practice.
Thinking about what you are grateful for
activates the attitude of gratitude, but if you really want to see the significant changes that are possible write it down!
This triggers your brain on another level, and also makes you give more thought to your Gratitude List.
Try it today! Carpe Diem
Instead of throwback thursday, lets do thankyou thursday
Here are a few steps to get you started.
Pause. Avoid focusing on what you don't have, what you can't do, what you can't control, or who you aren't able to see.
Try placing that energy on what you have, can do, can control and who is there.
Breathe. Take a few breaths to reset your mind when you feel it dipping into the dwelling spiral of negative thoughts. The dwelling spiral is what your mind does, jumping from one negative thought to another until you cant see anything positive around you.
Appreciate. Look around you, look for the things that you haven't noticed in a while. Bring awareness to and be mindful of the little things, to get you started. You will be amazed to see how this exercise can change your mood, your mindset, your day.
Pause, Breathe, Appreciate and Carpe Diem
From Lockdown to Lifeline: Let’s Keep the Lesson
The global stillness of the COVID era was uncomfortable, but revealing. It reminded us of what matters. And gratitude was one of the clearest tools we had to cope, connect, and stay grounded.
Let’s not leave that behind.
If you are experiencing issues sleeping, feeling anxious, sad or are stuck in a dwelling spiral. Check in with Dr. V
Want a Guided Gratitude Practice?
It’s one thing to know gratitude helps. It’s another to actually practice it, especially when your mind is busy, your schedule is full, and reflection feels like one more thing on your list.
That’s where the MindShift Companion can help.
It’s a tool designed to help you talk through your thoughts, track gratitude, and build emotional clarity, right inside ChatGPT. Think of it like having a daily mindset check-in buddy, without needing to open another app or force yourself to journal from scratch.
With the MindShift Companion, you can:
Get custom gratitude prompts
Reflect on the tough days and the good ones
Build a routine that trains your brain toward presence and resilience
Use your own words to stay grounded, even when life is busy
You can practice gratitude anywhere, anytime, just by typing.
Let ChatGPT become part of your self-care.
Carpe Diem, one chat at a time.
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