What do you want out of life? Do you desire more happiness, deeper relationships, or increased productivity? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? There is one thing that can help in all those areas, and that is to develop the habit of gratitude.
Gratitude is simply taking time to think about all the positive things in your life, rather than ruminating on the negatives. Gratitude may be one of the most overlooked tools for increasing happiness. In fact, research shows it is the single most powerful method of increasing happiness.
Having an attitude of gratitude doesn’t cost any money. It doesn’t take much time. But the benefits of gratitude are enormous.
One of the more popular Facebook challenges for the month of November is to post each day something you are thankful for. These posts are entertaining and thought-provoking to read. Many times, the writer awakens the same feelings in my heart and mind.
A blog called “happier human” suggests that doing this every day, and not just in November, will benefit you in ways you can hardly believe. In fact, there are at least 31 benefits of gratitude, all of which are backed by research.
The following list of gratitude benefits was compiled by aggregating the results of more than 50 research studies on gratitude.
Gratitude:
- Makes us happier.
- Makes people like us.
- Makes us healthier.
- Boosts our career.
- Strengthens our positive emotions.
- Develops our personality.
- Makes us more optimistic.
- Reduces materialism.
- Increases spiritualism, helping you feel closer to God.
- Makes us less self-centered.
- Increases self-esteem.
- Improves your sleep.
- Keeps you away from the doctor, helps you feel less pain, lowers blood pressure, and makes you less likely to develop a mental disorder.
- Lets you live longer.
- Increases your energy levels.
- Makes you more likely to exercise.
- Helps us bounce back from the “down” times.
- Makes us feel good.
- Makes our memories happier.
- Reduces feelings of envy.
- Helps us relax.
- Makes you friendlier.
- Helps your marriage.
- Makes you look good.
- Helps you make friends.
- Deepens friendships.
- Makes you a more effective manager.
- Helps you network.
- Increases your goal achievement.
- Improves your decision-making.
- Increases your productivity.
Gratitude is no cure-all, but it is a massively underutilized tool for improving life satisfaction and happiness.
Please accept the challenge of noticing what is going well in your life. These can be big or little things. They can be as simple as scoring a good parking space that day or just enjoying a close friend’s compassionate support. It takes less than five minutes to write in a gratitude journal or on a calendar space. You can try first thing in the morning or right before you fall asleep — whatever is best for you. When we keep a daily journal of our blessings, we are likely to experience any one or many of the 31 benefits mentioned above.
When you make gratitude a regular habit, it can help you learn to recognize good things in life despite the bad things that might be happening. Think of gratitude as a garden you plant. When you start incorporating gratitude practices, at first you won’t see any immediate change in your outlook on life. Lasting improvements in your emotional and physical health take time, but they will come if you are diligent. In fact, setting the intention to “plant a gratitude garden” in and of itself speaks to your hope for a more fulfilled life. And when the fruits of gratitude do show up … it will have been well worth the effort.
– by Pat Foy, Panguitch
Feature image caption: Many, many scientific studies point to the positive effects of gratitude on one’s well-being, including improved sleep, productivity, and self-esteem. Courtesy Maria Orlova.