The Powerful Practice of Daily Gratitude

For thousands of years civilizations have recognized the importance of gratitude. Religious leaders and philosophers alike have praised the benefits of adopting a daily gratitude practice. Thousands, if not millions, of people swear that turning their mind towards gratitude has created a palpable shift in perspective and wellbeing. 

Gratitude has been described by some scholars as a “social glue” that holds humanity together. It fortifies our friendships, family and romantic relationships in long lasting ways. Without gratitude, it is possible that culture as we know it would cease to exist. 

What is special about gratitude compared to other emotions, moods or affects, is that gratitude is “other oriented” meaning it places focus outside of the self. According to Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough, the two essential factors of gratitude are 1) recognizing that one has obtained a positive outcome and 2) recognizing that there is an external source for this outcome. By placing your focus outside of yourself, you open up a new realm of possibility to recognize the many good things that happen outside of your control and have the opportunity to be grateful for them. 

Opening yourself up to gratitude also helps to make things that have become mundane seem new and exciting again when you realize how different life would be without it. 

The Psychology of Gratitude 

The skeptics out there may have a ton of questions right about now. Does gratitude actually work on a psychological level? Does anything actually happen when you turn your mind to gratitude or is it just a placebo effect? Is there any science to back this stuff up?

Well, it turns out the answer is yes.

While researchers are still working out exactly how gratitude works in the body, there is no use denying that being grateful has some very real effects. 

The Greater Good Science Center (GGSC) at UC Berkeley published a white paper all about gratitude in 2018. In the paper, the GGSC cites dozens of research articles backing the benefits associated with a grateful disposition. Thus far, there are literally dozens of proposed physical and emotional benefits of gratitude. The following summary is just a few of the research-backed benefits of a daily gratitude practice. 

• Improved heart rate variability, a marker of good heart health 

• Increased likelihood of engaging in healthy activities (i.e. eating right and exercising)

• Better, longer sleep and less fatigue

• Decreased inflammatory markers in blood work 

• Improved outcomes in patients with chronic diseases such as arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease 

• A sense of well-being, life satisfaction, optimism, and purpose

In most of the studies, participants were using fairly simple gratitude interventions. These interventions were designed to take up a very small portion of the participants day and could be easily replicated day in and day out. 

Try It At Home

5 Samples of Gratitude Practice, adopted from The Greater Good Science Center 

1. Keep a “Blessings” journal. Every night, simply write down 3-5 things that you are grateful for. It’s that simple. This can be repeated at the end of the month, end of the year, etc, for a more powerful result.

2. Create a “Three Good Things” journal. At the end of every day, write down three good things that happened to you on that day. But don’t stop there! The key to this technique is to then identify the cause or source (other than yourself) of those good things. 

3. Try a “Mental Subtraction” exercise. This is quite simple yet wonderful. Imagine something - preferably something you think to be mundane - in your life. This could be your house, your car, your job, or even just a positive event… Now, imagine life without that thing. Really, truly imagine it. What would your day-to-day look like? How would the loss of this thing affect your family, your health, your existence? 

4. Deliver a “Gratitude Letter”. Is there someone in your life that you never properly thanked? There’s no better time than the present to fix that. Simply write a letter expressing your thanks and send it to the person in question. Or better yet, pay them a visit and deliver the thanks in person!

5. Become an “Experientialist”. Several studies suggest that those who spend money on experiences rather than material possessions have increased amounts of gratitude. So instead of buying that new shirt you might wear twice, consider taking a friend out for dinner or buying concert tickets. 

Using these simple techniques may just have the power to change your life. We suggest picking one technique that resonates most with you and doing it daily for at least a month to see results. Keep note of the emotions that come up as you institute your new practice. Enhanced joy, a sense of calm and contentment are just some of the moods that people with daily gratitude practice note in their lives. 

Perhaps you too, could benefit from a little gratitude in your life. 

Head over to our IG page and share what you are grateful for!

Source: The Science of Gratitude