Gratitude Practice

Dr. Hannah Roberts · November 21, 2017 ·

“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” ~William Arthur Ward

Let’s Check In!

Are you feeling the gratitude this month? How did you do with last week’s challenge to write down two things you are grateful for each day? Did you find it easy? Hard? Were you grateful for similar things each day? And have you checked how you score on the Gratitude Questionnaire? Were you surprised with your score? Have you improved your sense of gratitude this month? This week, we’ll take our gratitude practice to the next level, by expressing our gratitude to others. This is perfect for the week of Thanksgiving, where you’ll have ample opportunities to share with the people you love.

Defining Gratitude

Google dictionary defines gratitude as “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.”

Synonyms for gratitude include:

gratefulness
thankfulness
thanks
appreciation
indebtedness
recognition
acknowledgment
credit

Gratitude is defined as a noun, and that is how we have been addressing it throughout our month of gratitude. It is usually seen as a mood, personality trait, or emotional response to others’ behavior. But it’s closely tied to action – such as expressing gratitude or saying thank you. This week, we’re focusing on the outward expression of our gratitude to others.

Express Your Gratitude

Research shows that the actual expression of gratitude to another human being increases the benefits of the gratitude experience. When we interact with others in positive ways, we release bonding and other positive hormones that help us feel more connected to others. Gratitude helps us be more trusting and more social, and in turn, it appears to deepen our relationships. When we see that we have made someone else feel good, we often get a boost of positive emotions as well. Expressing gratitude has been found to uniquely improve your sense of happiness and reduce your feelings of depression.

Reach Out and Thank Someone

Are you ready for this week’s challenge? Take some time this week to thoughtfully express your gratitude to another person. This is more than just a cursory “thank you” – sit down with the person and tell them how they made you feel. Maybe you won’t see the person that you want to express your gratitude to in the next week? No worries! You can write a letter (or …let’s be real: an email, or text, or maybe even a snap?). For those of us who have difficulty expressing ourselves, it might be easier to express your gratitude in a hand written letter and then deliver it in person. If you can, it helps to be able to see the person receive your feedback. Let the person know exactly what they did and how you benefited from the action. Take a moment to allow you both to savor the experience and reflect on how it feels to express your gratitude.

Let us know how it goes – leave a note in the comments or share on Instagram or Facebook.

And have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Dr. Hannah Roberts · November 13, 2017 ·

“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” ~Willie Nelson

A Month of Gratitude

This November, we are practicing a month of gratitude. Each Monday, we want to share a new gratitude practice with you! Ongoing research suggests that gratitude activities may improve life satisfaction (Seligman, Steen, Park, & Peterson, 2005). Last week we looked at how you score on the Gratitude Questionnaire. Today, we are going to introduce you to the most simple option of all the gratitude practices: the gratitude list.

The Gratitude List

Practicing gratitude includes acknowledging the positive aspects of one’s life. This may include listing the good things that have or are happening in life, as well as identifying those important people in your life. A gratitude list is a simple list of those people and things that you are grateful for. Many research studies have included writing down a gratitude list at the end of each day. A gratitude list helps you reflect on the day with a positive lens, reviewing the events of the day and looking for those things that you are most grateful for. Writing things down helps you shift your thinking and memory and also gives you an ongoing list to reflect on.

Simplicity is Key

Researchers have found that you do not need to make a long list of what you are thankful for, but instead found that the shorter the list, the easier it is to practice gratitude. A recent study found that it was easier for people to remember and write down two acts in which people close to them did something for which they should be thankful than it was to think of six (Puente-Diaz & Cavazos-Arroyo, 2016).

We Challenge You

So today, we are suggesting that you try writing down two things you are thankful for at the end of the day. They don’t have to be epic. It could be something as simple as being thankful for having the modern conveniences of electricity and running water, or feeling grateful for the friendly smile of your barista as they handed you a hot beverage. You can keep a notepad beside your bed, or you can simply type them into your phone. If you have a planner, you can create a space to write your gratitude list down each day. Have a journal? You could keep a running list on the front or back page. Maybe you’re not so good at remembering? That’s ok! Try a post-it note on your bathroom mirror and leave a sharpie on the counter; you can add to your list when you brush your teeth every night! We challenge you to try this for a week. It’s ok if the same things come up each evening – the goals is to end your day thinking about those two positive things.

Sounds too simple to be true? Try a gratitude list this week and see how it goes!

Dr. Hannah Roberts · November 6, 2017 ·

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more.

If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”

~Oprah Winfrey

How much gratitude do you have in your life? Are you looking for more? As we intentionally grow our gratitude practice this November (more about that in this post), we will be introducing you to a number of scientifically researched approaches and techniques. What better way to get started this #GratitudeMonday than to assess your current gratitude levels?!

The Gratitude Questionnaire is a simple, six question survey you can take to see how much gratitude you are currently feeling and experiencing. The questions also help you understand how individuals experience gratitude. Scores on the Gratitude Questionnaire have been found to be “positively related to optimism, life satisfaction, hope, spirituality and religiousness, forgiveness, empathy and prosocial behavior, and negatively related to depression, anxiety, materialism and envy.”

Ready for the questions?

The Gratitude Questionnaire-Six Item Form (GQ-6)

By Michael E. McCullough, Ph.D., Robert A. Emmons, Ph.D., Jo-Ann Tsang, Ph.D.

Using the scale below as a guide, write a number beside each statement to indicate how much you agree with it.

1 = strongly disagree 2 = disagree 3 = slightly disagree 4 = neutral 5 = slightly agree 6 = agree 7 = strongly agree

I have so much in life to be thankful for. ____
If I had to list everything that I felt grateful for, it would be a very long list. ____
When I look at the world, I don’t see much to be grateful for.* ____
I am grateful to a wide variety of people. ____
As I get older I find myself more able to appreciate the people, events, and situations that have been part of my life history. ____
Long amounts of time can go by before I feel grateful to something or someone.* ____

Now, add up your score. * Items 3 and 6 are reverse-scored, so subtract those two answers.

Curious how your score compares to others’? You can check out a list of scores here. For example, multiple studies with college students have found average scores between 34.13 – 37.86.

Surprised by your results? Want to improve your score? We’ll be introducing new gratitude techniques every Monday in November, so be sure to follow along! And feel free to join in the fun on social media by using the hashtags #GratitudeMonday and #ThankfulThursday or commenting on our Facebook or Instagram posts!

With gratitude,

Hannah & Sarah

Dr. Hannah Roberts · November 1, 2017 ·

“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.” ~Eckhart Tolle

This November, we’re choosing to focus on gratitude. November seems like a perfect time, and not just because of the American practice of celebrating Thanksgiving. As Dr. Sarah and I have mentioned in previous posts (here and here), we have each been focusing on taking this year (especially this fall) more slowly and more intentionally. So now feels like a perfect time to implement a gratitude practice and take our own wellness to the next level.

“It is impossible to feel grateful and depressed in the same moment.” ~Naomi Williams

There are numerous studies that have found that practicing gratitude enhances overall life satisfaction and subjective well-being. Gratitude is correlated with a sense of satisfaction with life and work, a positive mood, happiness, optimism, and hope (McCullough, Emmons, and Tsang, 2002). In addition, gratitude appears to impact anxiety, depression and negative moods. We have seen how gratitude has impacted the lives of people we work with, as well as in our own lives and so we’ll be digging deep this month.

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.” ~John F. Kennedy

Here’s what to expect this month: Each Monday, we will have #GratitudeMonday posts, where we will introduce you to a scientifically researched technique to bring more gratitude into your life that week. And each Thursday, we will have our #ThankfulThursday posts, where we will explore themes of gratitude and encourage you to identify those things you are most thankful for. We hope you’ll play along by using the hashtags and feel free to let us know how your gratitude practice grows!

You can start by thinking of one thing you are grateful for today. Maybe it’s a person or an act of kindness. Maybe it’s a special furry friend who keeps you company. Pause and take 5 minutes to think about how this impacts your life in a positive way. Share with us here or on Instagram or Facebook! We’ll start by sharing how much we are grateful for you! We love this little Thriving community on the internet and social media and we continue to be inspired by all of the amazing work each of you are doing to better yourselves and the world around you each day! Happy November!