I want to talk a little bit about gratitude today. I think it´s vital for all of us to fully understand and realize the gratitude meaning and how much impact it can have on all of us. Do you know the meaning of gratitude and how much do you value it?
The definition of gratitude is: a feeling, emotion or attitude in acknowledgement of a benefit that one has received or will receive.
Gratitude is being thankful and ready to show appreciation for and to return kindness. While interacting with other people we have great impact on their overall well-being. Every gesture we make and every word we exchange with others will have some effect, either good or bad. Just by talking to another person over the phone for a few minutes will leave the other person with more positive or negative energy. So, we should interact with other people with this in mind and behave and speak according to the way we want to be perceived.
Recently I did a post on the importance of positive thinking and on how you can create more positive energy in your life, which will in turn increase your overall well-being. I highly recommend using positive thinking quotes. Gratitude is also a huge magnet on more happiness and well-being. By showing gratitude you will be attracting both more positive people and circumstances to you.
A pathway to well-being
Many studies have been done in the past on gratitude and the effect it has on other areas in our lives. Results have shown that gratitude is related to well-being and people who practice gratitude seem to be more happy with their lives, more optimistic and to have better relationships with others when compared to people who dwell on daily difficulties and hassles.(1) Results also show that there is a link between gratitude in teenagers to being optimistic, having good social relationships and being pleased and happy about life.(2) With this in mind we should put more emphasis on practicing gratitude early in life. We should encourage our children to be positive in all their endeavours and to think and be optimistic in life. We should also practice what we preach, that´s actually quite important. We should strive to be good rolemodels for our children and interact with others the same way in which we encourage them to. Otherwise we are without a doubt sending mixed messages that might be very confusing in their eyes.
When we express our gratitude in our actions we are also contributing to other people´s happiness. A gesture of gratitude is also a gesture of kindness. When someone does something nice for you or gives you a compliment, you probably experience some happiness. Just think about it for a minute.. When someone took the time to do something special for you, maybe wrote something extra special in your birthday card or complimented you on your wordrobe or on baking a delicious cake – how did you feel? Chances are you felt happy and glad. So why not do the same for others?
When you feel grateful for something, say so! Say thank you or smile, when someone opens the door for you or compliments you. A simple smile will go a long way, it´s much more powerful than many people think. When someone smiles at you your first reaction is to smile back. When you smile you show your gratitude and both you and the person who you smile at, will experience a sense of happiness. This will make your day just a bit better and you´ll be happier. It´s amazing how much impact gratitude really has.
How can you show your gratitude?
There are many simple ways to practice gratitude, here are just a few to get you started on your „daily gratitude journey“:
- Call or email someone just to say „thanks“.
- At the end of each day take a few minutes to think about what you are thankful for. Maybe you met a friend or something you did went really well. Think about it and maybe even write it down in a special gratitude journal where you keep your thoughts about gratitude.
- Exhibit patience, even when you are in a hurry.
- Have an attitude of gratitude in all your relationships.
- When you´re at the register at the supermarket, look the salesperson in the eye and even at their nametag to be able to say „Thanks Annie“. This will surely put a smile at Annie´s face.
- Memorize a song about gratitude or a gratitude poem, one that reminds you to be thankful. Recite or sing it daily for a week, at least think about it.
- Instead of frustration and thoughts about things that you do not own but want to pocess, think more in the lines of being happy and grateful for the things that you do have.
On that note I want to share with you one of my favorite gratitude quotes:
”Just think how happy you would be if you lost everything you have right now, and then got it back again”. Frances Rodman
This list of gratitude gestures could go on and on..
How many of these have you already done today?
Maybe I´ll put together a longer list soon and post it here on the site. In the meantime I would love to hear some of your ideas on expressing gratitude to others. What´s your gratitude meaning, what does gratitude mean to you? Please put your thoughts and ideas in the comments below, I would be very grateful ;)
Hope you have a wonderful day, today and every day.
- Emmons RA, McCullough ME (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2): 377–389.
- Froh JJ, et al. (2009). Gratitude and subjective well-being in early adolescence: Examining gender differences. Journal of Adolescence, 32(3): 633–650.