On Gratitude

'Gratitude is not only the greatest of all virtues, but the parent

of all the others' ~ Cicero.

Gratitude … what is it exactly? In terms of psychology, the study of gratitude began only a few years ago. It is clear though that it has been treated throughout history as one of humankind’s main and most attractive virtues.

The word “gratitude” has its roots in the Latin gratia, which means favor, and in gratus, which means welcome. The dictionary defines gratitude as the feeling that forces us to appreciate the benefit or favor that we have received, and to correspond in some way. And so we can think of gratitude as recognition of the goodness in something received from outside of ourselves, and a movement from within towards giving or sharing with others.

Interestingly, gratitude is universal – it exists in all cultures – although it is expressed in different ways. It is an emotion and a feeling but also an attitude and character trait. For some, gratitude is a way of life. Importantly, gratitude is not just the act of thanking someone politely in conversation for something … it is a feeling and development of a sense of gratefulness on a deeper level.

Those who experience gratitude on this deeper level have been found to experience the following:

• more positive emotions more frequently
• enjoyment of life with a higher level of satisfaction and hope
• a tendency towards less depression, anxiety, and envy
• the capacity to feel more empathy
• demonstrate higher levels of forgiveness and helping others
• are less materialistic
• have higher quality social feelings/relationships
• have better sleep patterns

How does a person become more grateful? Consciously noting when we feel grateful and what specifically we are grateful for seem to be important components of living in a way that embraces and demonstrates gratitude. A 2010 study done by Jerome Carson and colleagues, found that individuals who participated in two gratitude workshops and who for a month kept a gratitude diary, experienced significant positive benefits including:

• they were more thankful for things in their lives
• they had improved life satisfaction
• they had a greater sense of mastery
• they and had “higher social feelings”

Paul Kismer, locally known as “The Happiness Expert,” says that if we were to do only one thing to increase our overall sense of happiness the most effective would be this:

Every day, at the same time,

write down three things you are grateful for

in the last twenty-four hours.

That’s it. Really. By doing this we increase our gratitude and thereby our overall happiness. How does it work? When you begin to look for positive things, you tend to find them! They were, in fact, there all along, it’s just that by engaging in this one simple activity you are training your brain to notice them. It is highly recommended that you use a journal or notebook to do this exercise. In this way, you can look back over time to track what things you have noted.

        Gratitude. Consider these quotes. Choose the one that best fits your sense of gratitude. Maybe write it in your journal or diary (or smart phone!) as a place from which to start a new practice of noticing gratitude each day.

“Gratitude can make our lives happier and more satisfying, When we feel gratitude, we benefit from a pleasing memory of a positive fact or event in our lives; we feel good and our life has meaning. Additionally, when we express our gratitude to others, we form a closer relationship with them and we make them feel better.” ~ M.R. Elosua

“The miracle of gratitude is that is shifts your perception to such an extent that it changes the world you see.” ~ Dr. Robert Holden

“Showing gratefulness is one of the simplest yet most powerful things human beings can do for each other.” ~ Randy Pausch

“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.” ~ Meister Eckhart

Gratitude is central to my core beliefs and I start and finish every day acknowledging all I am grateful for, there’s much. My life is overflowing with abundance and I’m especially blessed with many amazing people in my life including my family, friends and colleagues. If you don’t currently take time for gratitude daily, try it. It’s life changing, I promise.