In our modern and materialistic world, we spend a lot of time and energy continuing to compete with our neighbors. This endless need to “keep up with the Joneses” causes an all-consuming strain on our psyche. If only we had a day to stop us in our circular thinking… A day that forces us to think about what we owe the world, instead of focusing about what the world owes us. If only we had a day like that…
Oh wait! We do! It’s called Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving not only provides us with an opportunity to get together with friends and family in order to have the biggest meals of our lives but also serves as a vital reminder to be thankful for the abundance we have. Despite its controversial history; Thanksgiving leaves us with a valuable secret to happiness: Be grateful for what you have.
The research on gratitude so far has been a rather bumpy but persistent road but leading researchers Emmons and McCullough (2003) have found some gems regarding the benefits of gratitude. First, they examined the effects of writing gratitude diaries among 200 college undergraduates… the guinea pigs of psychology. In the study, individuals were split into three groups who each wrote 10 weekly diaries. One group focused their writing on gratitude, a second group wrote about hassles and annoyances, and third wrote about neutral events.
The gratitude group were told to write about the following: “There are many things in our lives, both large and small, that we might be grateful about. Think back over the past week and write down…up to five things in your life that you are grateful or thankful for.”
What they found is at the end of the 10-week study, students who were in the gratitude group reported feeling more optimistic about their upcoming week, had fewer physical symptoms, and spent more time exercising. But, the researchers also found that the task itself was not strong enough to induce a significant effect on overall mood.
This led them to think that focusing on gratitude only once a week was not frequent enough to change someone's mood. So, they did what all good researchers do and upped the dosage. Instead of once a week, they had the participants write about gratitude once a day for two weeks. They also took out the neutral writing and replaced it with a task in which individuals wrote about ways they were better off than other people. This is known as downward social comparison and if you want to learn more about it read: Anything You Can Earn, I Can Earn More.
The new study showed that this time, those in the gratitude condition experienced a more positive mood during the two-week period than other groups. They were also more likely to “pay it forward” such as helping a friend with emotional support. BUT the researchers found no benefits of gratitude on symptoms of health. They concluded that the two weeks of gratitude writing was not long enough time to create lasting change in health.
Yup, you guessed it, just like the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. They performed a third study. This time the researchers performed a longer study (three weeks) and their population of choice was 65 people with neuromuscular disease (to focus on health benefits). Once more the participants were split into three groups: Gratitude, hassles, and a downward social comparison group. The people in the gratitude group also had their partners fill out entries on how they perceived changes in the participant life perspective and mood.
In this final study the researchers found that those in the gratitude group had a more positive view of their life and a higher daily positive mood on average when compared to the control group. Their partners also backed them up by reporting similar results. Health wise, the participants in the gratitude group had an overall improvement in their sleep. The researchers suggested that by focusing on one’s blessings daily it may have reduced the worry that can often keep people awake at night.
So, my challenge to you is to not restrict your gratitude to only this one day of the year but rather keep it going. The key is to making anything a habit is regular practice. It only takes two or three weeks of filling out gratitude diaries each day to improve mood, develop an optimistic outlook, and feel higher levels of life satisfaction. Doing so can also leave you more likely to help others in need as well. If you want to gain a health benefit from gratitude, you may need to keep up with writing for two or three months but this practice takes only 5 to 10 minutes a day so don't let that hold you back. If you are feeling extra spicy, try writing your entries on social media as I am sure others would like to know they are appreciated as well. Plus, it can add some positivity to people's newsfeeds which I think the world could use more of.
References
Emmons, R.A. (2008) Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier. Mariner Books; Reprint edition.
Oh wait! We do! It’s called Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving not only provides us with an opportunity to get together with friends and family in order to have the biggest meals of our lives but also serves as a vital reminder to be thankful for the abundance we have. Despite its controversial history; Thanksgiving leaves us with a valuable secret to happiness: Be grateful for what you have.
The research on gratitude so far has been a rather bumpy but persistent road but leading researchers Emmons and McCullough (2003) have found some gems regarding the benefits of gratitude. First, they examined the effects of writing gratitude diaries among 200 college undergraduates… the guinea pigs of psychology. In the study, individuals were split into three groups who each wrote 10 weekly diaries. One group focused their writing on gratitude, a second group wrote about hassles and annoyances, and third wrote about neutral events.
The gratitude group were told to write about the following: “There are many things in our lives, both large and small, that we might be grateful about. Think back over the past week and write down…up to five things in your life that you are grateful or thankful for.”
What they found is at the end of the 10-week study, students who were in the gratitude group reported feeling more optimistic about their upcoming week, had fewer physical symptoms, and spent more time exercising. But, the researchers also found that the task itself was not strong enough to induce a significant effect on overall mood.
This led them to think that focusing on gratitude only once a week was not frequent enough to change someone's mood. So, they did what all good researchers do and upped the dosage. Instead of once a week, they had the participants write about gratitude once a day for two weeks. They also took out the neutral writing and replaced it with a task in which individuals wrote about ways they were better off than other people. This is known as downward social comparison and if you want to learn more about it read: Anything You Can Earn, I Can Earn More.
The new study showed that this time, those in the gratitude condition experienced a more positive mood during the two-week period than other groups. They were also more likely to “pay it forward” such as helping a friend with emotional support. BUT the researchers found no benefits of gratitude on symptoms of health. They concluded that the two weeks of gratitude writing was not long enough time to create lasting change in health.
Yup, you guessed it, just like the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. They performed a third study. This time the researchers performed a longer study (three weeks) and their population of choice was 65 people with neuromuscular disease (to focus on health benefits). Once more the participants were split into three groups: Gratitude, hassles, and a downward social comparison group. The people in the gratitude group also had their partners fill out entries on how they perceived changes in the participant life perspective and mood.
In this final study the researchers found that those in the gratitude group had a more positive view of their life and a higher daily positive mood on average when compared to the control group. Their partners also backed them up by reporting similar results. Health wise, the participants in the gratitude group had an overall improvement in their sleep. The researchers suggested that by focusing on one’s blessings daily it may have reduced the worry that can often keep people awake at night.
So, my challenge to you is to not restrict your gratitude to only this one day of the year but rather keep it going. The key is to making anything a habit is regular practice. It only takes two or three weeks of filling out gratitude diaries each day to improve mood, develop an optimistic outlook, and feel higher levels of life satisfaction. Doing so can also leave you more likely to help others in need as well. If you want to gain a health benefit from gratitude, you may need to keep up with writing for two or three months but this practice takes only 5 to 10 minutes a day so don't let that hold you back. If you are feeling extra spicy, try writing your entries on social media as I am sure others would like to know they are appreciated as well. Plus, it can add some positivity to people's newsfeeds which I think the world could use more of.
References
Emmons, R.A. (2008) Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier. Mariner Books; Reprint edition.
Emmons, R. A. & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 377–389.