“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” - Robert Brault

We know what you are thinking… yet another gratitude blog. A lot of people gloss over this idea of gratitude and think “I don’t need that”, “Isn’t that just a fluff word?”, or *insert eye roll*.

While gratitude may not change your whole life, it can lead to a happier and more purposeful life. Plus, it’s totally free! To break it down, gratitude is similar to thankfulness and appreciation. It is simply acknowledging the good in our lives, it is not a comparison.

This acknowledgement can be received or given, meaning that we can be the recipient of gratitude and also give gratitude to someone else; both are shown to have positive benefits. 

The Science Behind Gratitude

“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” - Thornton Wilder

It is no secret that here at ConsciousWorks we turn to science to get the full story. Research supported by the John Templeton Foundation found that grateful people reported higher levels of positivity, life satisfaction, vitality, and optimism (1).

These individuals also had lower incidences of stress and depression, and had higher reported levels of alertness, motivation, attentiveness, and energy (1, 2). This is partly due to the fact that gratitude can activate the parts of our brain that are affected by dopamine, which is the neurotransmitter that makes us feel good and makes our brain say, “let’s do that again” (3). This suggests that having a grateful outlook not only feels good, but it also has a positive biological effect.

Now this isn’t to say that being grateful means that negativity doesn’t occur; both research groups reported experiencing the same amount of negative emotions. It was the positive attributes of being grateful that were able to buffer the negativity more effectively, thus contributing to an enhanced state of well being.

In fact, in his book “What Happy People Know,” Dan Baker argues that you cannot be in a state of gratitude and fear at the same time. Meaning that gratitude can be our secret antidote to getting through the negativity. 

“Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity...it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” - Melody Beattie

There are so many ways to practice and express gratitude, maybe you practice gratitude every day, maybe you want to try doing it more, or maybe you haven’t thought of it. Let’s acknowledge that sometimes it isn’t something that comes easily, and that is okay!

That is why we put together a free 12 Days of Gratitude calendar so that you have some tips and tricks in your back pocket to start or keep going.

Written by: Megan Lloyd & Dr. Alex Duszynski

Download 12 Days of Gratitude to get started!

Inspired By:

1. Emmons, R. A. (2009). The John Templeton Foundation. In S.J. Lopez & A. Beauchamp (Eds.),Encyclopedia of Positive Psychology (pp. 988-990). New York: Oxford University Press.

2. Froh, J. J., Bono, G., & Emmons, R. A. (2010). Being grateful is beyond good manners: Gratitude and motivation to contribute to society among early adolescents. Motivation and Emotion, 34, 144-157.

3. Ashby, F. G., Isen, A. M., & Turken, A. U. (1999). A neuropsychological theory of positive affect and its influence on cognition. Psychological Review, 106(3), 529–550. 

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