For many people, the concept of thankfulness is reserved for one time a year. Gratitude is a moral trait that is good to strive after but not essential for living a productive life. The benefits of thankfulness are severely underestimated. Gratitude actually has significant long-term effects.
Here are a few of its benefits…
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Physical and Emotional Health
One study on gratitude concluded “a one time act of thoughtful gratitude produced an immediate 10% increase in happiness and 35% reduction in depressive symptoms.” (HappierHuman) According to Robert Emmons, University of California Davis psychology professor and author of Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier, “Grateful people take better care of themselves and engage in more protective health behaviors like regular exercise, a healthy diet, regular physical examinations.” (WebMD) In another clinical study, participants who took time each day to reflect on why they were thankful reported that they “felt better about their lives overall, were more optimistic about the future, and reported fewer health problems than the other participants.” (Count Your Blessings)
To summarize, people who regularly practice the art of thankfulness are more satisfied with life, have less stress and other major health problems, exercise more frequently, and have a more positive outlook on the future.
Healthier Relationships
From my personal observations, people who are intentional in gratitude tend to complain less, not be as envious of others, and are less likely to criticize those around them. As a result, these people have healthier relationships than those who aren’t as thankful. I think the reason is that most of us do not enjoy being around others who are overly critical or prone to complain. Also, we feel more comfortable around those that are content with who they are. This doesn’t mean that thankful people do not get frustrated or settle for mediocrity. They see what everyone else sees, but they choose to be gracious with people even in the midst of confrontation or difficult circumstances. If you want to improve your relationships, practice gratitude.
It is true that for some thankfulness comes more naturally, but I believe it is a skill that we all can develop. Here are some ways to grow in gratitude…
Reflect and Write
One of the best ways to develop thankfulness is to take time each day to reflect on what happened that day. Results from one study, “suggested that daily writing led to a greater increase in gratitude than weekly practice.” (Count Your Blessings) In order for this practice to be effective, we must learn to see the positive in situations. This doesn’t mean that we “live in the clouds” or lose touch with reality. We can be realistic and still choose to see the good. In most circumstances, things can always be worse than what actually happened. In another study, participants were instructed, “to write down three things that went well and their causes every night for one week had a long-lasting impact. After one week, participants were 2% happier than before, but in follow-up tests, their happiness kept on increasing, from 5% at one month, to 9% at six months. All this, even though they were only instructed to journal for one week. Participants enjoyed the exercise so much, that they just kept on doing it on their own.” (HappierHuman)
The discipline of daily recording the people, events, and things you are thankful develops the skill of gratitude.
Keep Short Accounts
A few years ago I met with a pastor who I greatly admire and during that time asked him about some of the spiritual disciplines in his life. He listed off a few and then lastly said, “I keep short accounts.” For him, if he even slightly thought that he had offended someone, he would contact them just to make sure. He didn’t want there to be any bitterness in his life or theirs.
Bitterness is a cancer to our soul. The antidote is gratitude. Too many times we become bitter at people, situations, and God. The truth is that life is hard and, as my dad would remind me, “not fair.” Even in the most difficult circumstances, we can learn to see the positive. Adversity can be a blessing in disguise. (I write more about the benefits of adversity here.) Also, we need to be quick to apologize when we make mistakes, recognize that our choices don’t have to define us, and continually forgive others when they wrong us. Keeping short accounts will help develop gratitude by attacking the bitterness that wants to creep in.
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Bitterness is a cancer to our soul. The antidote is gratitude.
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What are you thankful for this year?