Gratitude - December 2023

What you can change by practicing gratitude

Patience

Patience is a virtue, and many of us are lacking it. Almost everyone prefers smaller, quicker rewards over larger, later ones. It might sound distressing - if so many people make this mistake, how could you make a change? The answer is gratitude! Studies show that people with gratitude have reduced impatience when making financial decisions. The study published in Psychological Science even recognizes that happiness did less for people’s patience than gratitude did!

Wellbeing

Gratitude also effects your overall mental and physical wellness. Studies on this have found that people who practiced gratitude were more optimistic about the future, exercised more, and felt fewer symptoms of illness. One of the most impactful studies was done on women with breast cancer. The researchers sent the Women to a 6-week online gratitude intervention & the results showed that patients who went to the gratitude program experienced a significant decrease is death-related fears.

Happiness

Dr. Martin E.P. Seligman, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, conducted a study on 411 people. Each person received the assignment of writing about early memories. Then, they were assigned to write and personally deliver a letter of gratitude to someone who had never been properly thanked for his or her kindness. The participants immediately exhibited a huge increase in happiness scores.

Satisfaction

The following quote is from the philosopher Seneca, an ancient Roman Stoic philosopher. It embodies how the key to happiness and satisfaction is to be grateful for what we have in the present.

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.”

Community

Gratitude can nourish your relationships and community. Studies show that when you express gratitude to others, they are more likely to invest in your relationship. In the workplace, when employees receive expressions of gratitude, they have better sleep, fewer headaches, healthier eating habits, and higher job satisfaction! Expressing gratitude becomes a chain effect that can completely change your community, especially at work.