Right around the corner is Thanksgiving.  A holiday synonymous with being grateful for what you have and sharing it with others.  It is the time of year when you take a step back and realize all that you have and what others may not have.  The time to be generous and understand what a gift it is to be able to share.  In my opinion, gratitude is one of the greatest emotions that a person can convey.  It has been said by many for centuries that it is far better to give than to receive.  Making another person happy provides an amazing rush of endorphins.  However, when someone shows gratitude for what you have contributed, it intensifies that feeling exponentially.

Gratitude is a positive emotion that involves being thankful and appreciative, realizing that something good has happened in your favor.  It also consists of acknowledging that someone is responsible for it, whether it is a specific person in your life, an impersonal source like nature, or a divine entity.  Feelings of gratitude often emerge spontaneously in the moment.  Some people are naturally prone to experiencing it more often than others, but experts state that it is something that you can cultivate and learn to practice more often.  Evidence suggests that consciously cultivating such thankfulness can have mental health benefits.  If you would like to know some of life’s little secrets related to gratitude, check out Gratitude Is Your Power by Anthony Marroquin.

When you experience gratitude, you feel thankful for something or someone in your life and respond with feelings of kindness, warmth, and other forms of generosity.  So what does gratitude look like?  How do you know if you are experiencing a sense of gratitude?  Expressing your appreciation for what you have can happen in a number of different ways.  For example, it might entail spending a few moments thinking about the things in your life that you are grateful for, stopping to observe and acknowledge the beauty or wonder of something you encounter in your daily life, or simply being thankful for your health.  It could also be thanking someone for the positive influence they have in your life, doing something kind for another person to show that you are grateful, paying attention to the small things in your life that bring you joy and peace, or an end of the meditation or prayer focused on giving thanks.  Even coming upon the realization that you have the basic necessities in life and other people do not is a form of gratitude.

How often do you experience gratitude?  You can evaluate your tendency to experience gratitude by asking yourself the following questions:

  1. Do you feel like you have a lot to be thankful for in your life?
  2. When you look at the world, can you find many things to be grateful for?
  3. If you made a list of all the things you are grateful for, would that list be very long?
  4. Do you feel like your appreciation for life and other people has grown stronger as you get older?
  5. Do you frequently experience moments where you appreciate someone or something?
  6. Do you appreciate a wide variety of people in your life?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, you probably have a strong sense of gratitude.  If you answered no to many or all, you could take steps to bring more gratitude into your life.  We can now begin discussing the types of gratitude and determine what you can do to practice gratitude more often.

Gratitude is often categorized into one of three categories:

  1. As an affective trait related to a person’s general disposition.  Some people naturally experience gratitude more frequently than others.  However, research has not demonstrated a clear connection to any of the Big Five personality traits such as conscientiousness, agreeableness, and extroversion.
  2. As a mood that may fluctuate over time.  People might experience periods where they feel more grateful in general, and at other times they may experience this less often.
  3. As an emotion experienced in the moment. People might have a particular experience that inspires feelings of gratitude.

Developing a sense of gratitude is not complex or challenging and it does not require any special tools or training.  In fact, the more you practice it, the better you will become and put yourself into a grateful state of mind.  Here are some best practices to accomplish this:

  1. Observe the moment and take a second to focus on your experience and how you are feeling. Take stock of your senses and think about what is helping you cope.  Are there people who have done something for you, or are there particular things helping you manage your stress, feel good about your life, or accomplish what you need to do?  You may also find the practice of mindfulness, which focuses on becoming more aware of the present moment, a helpful tool.
  2. Write it down by starting a gratitude journal where you jot down a few things you are thankful for each day.  Being able to look back on these observations can help when you are struggling to feel grateful.
  3. Savor the moment and really enjoy the moment.  Focus on the experience and allow yourself to absorb those good feelings.  Concentrate on the sensations and emotions you are experiencing in a given moment and think about the things you appreciate.
  4. Create gratitude rituals through meditation, prayer, or a mantra can inspire a greater sense of gratitude.  Simply pausing for a moment to appreciate something and giving thanks for it can help you feel a greater sense of gratitude. 

Shannon Welbourne expresses in her book, Gratitude, that gratitude is all about recognizing and appreciating those people, things, moments, skills, or gifts that bring joy, peace, or comfort into our lives.  Show your appreciation.  You might thank a person to show you are thankful for them, or you might spend a moment simply mentally appreciating what you have.  Expressing your appreciation for others is an important component that can affect your interpersonal relationships, particularly those with your partner.  People with high levels of gratitude experience sharp declines in marital satisfaction when their partner does not express gratitude in return.  Showing your gratitude for those around you can help improve the quality and satisfaction of your relationships.

The actual impact of gratitude on our physical and psychological well-being is quite fascinating.  The subject is something that has interested scholars and philosophers since ancient times.  Research on gratitude did not take off until the 1950s, as psychologists and sociologists began to examine the impact that gratitude could have on individuals and groups.  Since then, interest in the topic has grown considerably as the potential health benefits became increasingly apparent.  Some of the benefits of gratitude that researchers have uncovered include better sleep and immunity defense, higher self-esteem, decreased stress and lower blood pressure, less anxiety and depression, stronger relationships, higher levels of optimism, and an overall greater life satisfaction.  In his book, Gratitude: The Startling Impact of Giving & Receiving Appreciation, James Lucas goes into more detail on how gratitude affects us.

In short, research suggests that people who are more grateful are more likely to engage in health-promoting behaviors, including exercising, following their doctor’s recommendations, and sticking to a healthier lifestyle.  And because gratitude helps people to focus on the present, it plays a role in magnifying positive emotions.  Focusing on gratitude can also help improve self-worth because you acknowledge that there are people in the world who care about you and are looking out for your interests.  This can help you recognize your value.  Christine Adams shares in her book, Gratitude, how to always find ways to be grateful, no matter the situation.

Thanksgiving is the time of year when people reflect on what they have and how they can share it with others.  It is the time of year to be thankful for all that you have.  While it is a wonderful idea to have a time devoted to gratitude on the calendar, the effects of gratitude should be spread across the entire year.  Showing gratitude as much as possible can only lead to more positivity.  I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and with that, here are a few more reads to checkout for more information about gratitude: Gratitude Essays by Oliver Sacks, Gratitude: Discover How To Gain Emotional Freedom Through The Power Of Gratitude by Ace McCloud, and Gratitude: Why Giving Thanks Is The Key To Our Well-Being by Cornelius Plantinga.

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