Gratitude - What are you thankful for?

Gratitude is an emotion that signals the recognition of what others have done to us, and is similar to appreciation. It is a positive and social emotion that is directed towards another person. Positive psychologists have done a lot of research into gratitude and how it impacts our lives.  

One way gratitude can impact our lives is through increased happiness. Feelings of gratitude have been associated with contentment, happiness, pride and hope. Moreover, gratitude has been found to help people find pleasure in positive experiences and to be associated with better physical health, both of which contribute towards happiness. Gratitude has also been found to be associated with several well-being variables such as personal growth, personal relationships, purpose in life and self-acceptance. 

Gratitude has also been found to have a meaningful impact on relationships. In close relationships gratitude can help to remind individuals of the quality of that relationship. Feelings of gratitude have also been found to increase caring behaviour due to our desire to reciprocate gratitude experienced by one partner to another in romantic relationships. Gratitude has been reported to be one of the most important factors of making a relationship work, as it serves a function for promoting relationships with those who are responsive to our needs and preferences.

There are some ways you can implement gratitude into your everyday lives. One way is to make an effort to acknowledge the things you are grateful for every day. There are two different ways you could do this, one way is to have a gratitude journal, in which you make note of the positive things that happened in your day. Alternatively, you could think about the positive things that happened in your day. The other way to implement gratitude into your everyday life is to consider three things that you are grateful for, before getting out of bed and starting your day. No matter how small, finding three things you are grateful for can help to positively frame your day and is also beneficial for those struggling with anxiety or depression.