You probably have a general
inkling that gratitude is good—and that having a gratitude practice could be
good for you. Maybe you’ve even considered starting a gratitude journal. What
you’re likely not as conversant in is that the impressive body of research
suggesting gratitude—as an emotional experience, a personality trait, and a
practice—is related to a good array of improvements in psychological state and
well-being. Research shows that folks who already experience overall higher
levels of gratitude in their lives—as a personality trait or lens they see
world through—tend to attain higher on various measures of psychological state
, neuroscientist, writer, and coach Alex Korb, Ph.D., tells SELF.
For instance, a 2010 meta-review published in Clinical Psychology Review found that folks who have higher levels of trait gratitude also are likely to
experience less depression, greater well-being, and more social support, among
other things. Importantly, there's also research suggesting that gratitude
practices can cause real, measurable benefits for our psychological state .
A 2017 series of meta-analyses published in Basic and Appliedpsychology checked out 38 gratitude intervention studies, where researchers
have some number of individuals regularly practice gratitude in some form (like
journaling) and compare them to people on top of things groups (who are
assigned to no intervention or a neutral one, like journaling about daily
activities). They found that the people that practiced gratitude had “evident
differences” in many self-reported measures of psychological state and
well-being, like happiness, life satisfaction, grateful mood, grateful
disposition, positive affect, depression, optimism, and quality of
relationships.
Plus, an emerging body of research demonstrates that gratitude (as
a trait and a practice) could also be particularly helpful for people that have
experienced serious traumas, like natural disasters and combat—suggesting that
now could be a very ripe time for incorporating more gratitude into your life.
Knowing that science supports the thought that gratitude is sweet
for us is one thing. But let’s be real: Sometimes actually integrating the
practices we all know are good for us into our lives is simpler said than done,
especially when you’re during a low-energy or high-anxiety place. (Which,
hello, is true now!) “The message that I attempt to get out though is that even
when things look really bleak, it's possible to possess moments of positive
emotion like gratitude which will help sustain you and assist you cope better
with whatever you’re handling ,” social psychologist Judy Moskowitz, Ph.D.,
M.P.H., professor of medical social sciences at the Northwestern University
Feinberg School of drugs , director of the Osher Center for IntegrativeMedicine at Northwestern, and president of the International Positive
Psychology Association, tells SELF.
The really the great thing about gratitude is that it’s incredibly
low-effort, and therefore the barrier to entry is nonexistent. There’s no
special technique to find out and no serious time investment. “Cultivating
gratitude can start tomorrow,” Robin Stern, Ph.D., the cofounder and associate
director for the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and an associate
research scientist at the kid Study Center at Yale, tells SELF.
Try one or more of the subsequent practices for a couple of weeks,
and see how it causes you to feel.
1. Start By Just Brooding About It Once Each Day
“Take a while a day , a couple of moments, to reflect on what
you’re grateful for,” Moskowitz recommends. the simplest thanks to build this
into your day? Reflect while you’re doing a chore or routine that you simply do
a day . Making your bed within the morning, unloading the dishwasher, washing
your face at night—these little activities can double because the time you
intentionally savor the items you're grateful for. That way it becomes habitual
and doesn’t require any rearranging of your day.
A minimum of three things may be a excellent spot to start out ,
Moskowitz says, and “they don’t need to be fresh a day .” you would possibly
use ones like your health, your spouse, or your pet over and once again . they
will even be seemingly trivial, Moskowitz adds—as small and straightforward
because the incontrovertible fact that the sun is out or your coffee tastes
good.
2. Keep A Gratitude Journal
As the most-studied intervention, keeping a gratitude journal may
be a great idea, Korb says. “This is simply directing your attention to 3 or
five things that happened that day, or parts of your life that you’re grateful
for, and writing them down.”
It’s better to require a couple of moments to actually reflect on
these little gifts, cognitive psychologist Emiliana Simon-Thomas, Ph.D.,
science director of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley, tells SELF,
rather than rushing to jot them down sort of a grocery list. She also
recommends including people, or considering how an individual could be the
source or reason behind one among the items on your list.
You can roll in the hay a few of times every week or a day , Stern
says. Try keeping a journal next to your bed to use within the morning or in
the dark . While you'll definitely keep it simple, if you are doing want to
urge more serious about gratitude journaling.
3. Tell People Many Thanks , Verbally Or In Writing
This one may be a welcome addition to reflection or journaling
because it brings within the social connectedness element of gratitude. “Start
saying many thanks to people more often, and during a particular way,”
Simon-Thomas says. The recipient are often anyone—a ally , a spouse, a barista,
a coworker, a sibling—but it’s quite saying “Thanks!”
The most effective expressions of gratitude—the ones that make both the thanker and therefore the thanked feel good—hit three things, Simon-Thomas says. Here are the three main elements of a super-effective expression of gratitude:
- Describe what the person did
- Acknowledge the trouble that the person put in, including if they sacrificed or forewent something
- Describe how it benefited you
“When we do that more in-depth, reflective, and
specific-to-the-person quite gratitude expression, the emotions tend to be much
stronger,” Simon-Thomas says. “We feel more warm, [and] the opposite person
feels more recognized and validated. which sense of bonding, of interdependence
and mutual support, is more robust when we…deliberately highlight those
elements.”
4. Keep At It - It Gets Easier
Know that practicing gratitude might not feel particularly natural
or good at first—it may feel a touch forced or effortful. “Some people,
especially once they start [practicing gratitude], it doesn’t necessarily feel
that good within the moment,” Korb adds.
But it’s totally okay if it feels weird or you’re not welling up
with warm and fuzzy feelings. Korb likens it to getting into shape with
physical exercise: it'd not cause you to feel good within the moment, but that
doesn’t mean you’re not accruing benefits within the background that become
more apparent over time. And, like exercise, it gets easier. “Over time it
doesn’t still take the maximum amount effort,” Korb says.
Even as a longtime practitioner, “some days it’s easier than
others,” Mostkowitz says. “You might feel sometimes such as you need to dig
really deep.” It’s all a part of the practice. As Simon-Thomas puts it, “We
have the chance with those little moments in lifestyle to either relate to them
during a grateful way or not.”
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