Some Science of Gratitude

I enjoy finding science-based information that confirms things I already subscribe to because of my religious beliefs. The intersections and commonality are fascinating and they help me understand a concept better and reinforce its importance to me. Today I was trying to learn more about gratitude when I stumbled upon this article.

Gratitude doesn’t make problems and threats disappear. We can lose jobs, we can be attacked on the street, we can get sick. I’ve experienced all of those things. I remember those harrowing times at unexpected moments: My heart beats faster, my throat constricts. My body wants to hit something or run away, one or the other. But there’s nothing to hit, nowhere to run. The threats are indeed real, but at that moment, they exist only in memory or imagination. I am the threat; it is me who is wearing myself out with worry.
That’s when I need to turn on the gratitude. If I do that enough, suggests the psychological research, gratitude might just become a habit. What will that mean for me? It means, says the research, that I increase my chances of psychologically surviving hard times, that I stand a chance to be happier in the good times. I’m not ignoring the threats; I’m appreciating the resources and people that might help me face those threats.

Read the rest here... The Six Habits of Highly Grateful People by Jeremy Adam Smith 

I enjoyed this one too: Gratitude Practice Explained, from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence