#Gratitude

Gratitude is good for wellbeing and Resilience. But what is gratitude?

Gratitude is considered often in positive psychology as an integral part of wellbeing, and also as a predictor of wellbeing. Overall, gratitude has also been related to greater resilience, increased meaning in life and stronger social intelligence. But did you know gratitude can be considered both as an emotion and a personal trait? While the benefits of the both gratitudes are similar,

• Benefits associated with the emotion gratitude include,
  • Increases in happiness and life satisfaction
  • Decreases in depression and physical aggression

• Benefits associated with the trait gratitude include,
  • Increases in happiness and life satisfaction, but also hope and optimism
  • Decreases in depression and anxiety

It has been found trait gratitude may influence the emotion gratitude in the individual. I have established gratitude is one of my top 5 character strengths, which therefore suggests I may experience a greater feeling of the emotion gratitude after experiencing positive emotion than someone being lower in the trait gratitude. You can explore your own trait gratitude and character strengths using the same the VIA Character Strengths Survey. If for you, gratitude is not high for you as a character strength, do not be disheartened, for you can grow your trait gratitude through the use of gratitude interventions.

Interestingly, the benefits of gratitude stretch across young, middle aged and older adults, but research points to older adults experiencing the greatest levels of gratitude. And No, I am not an older adult, I comfortably sit in midlife.

Gratitude interventions aim to induce and grow gratitude, the most common of which is gratitude listing, where at the end of each day, participants write down 3 things for which they are grateful.

Have you tried listing 3 things you are grateful for each day? If so, have you had difficulty sustaining this practice in the past? Mix it up, have fun with it and make it your own. In a previous role I was encouraged to reflect on my day and write down my 3 G’s, and it is a process I have since embraced,

1. a good thing that happened today
2. something I was grateful for
3. a goal for tomorrow

This process of finding my 3 G’s for the day is also something I encourage as a family activity with my children. Our favourite day was a Mothers Day celebration where they tasted waffles for the first time and their 3 G’s for the day went like this,

1. a good thing that happened today – trying waffles for the first time
2. something I am grateful for – Waffles
3. a goal for tomorrow – eat more waffles!

Encouraging children to reflect on gratitude, thereby inducing gratitude, has not only increased students satisfaction with school, but also self-esteem. In the challenging world of acceptance versus rejection among children, self-esteem is significant with regard to a sense of belonging.

So I encourage you to sit down today and reflect on what you might be grateful for, and if it fits, consider creating a new family tradition. We can always find something to be grateful for, even if it is being thankful your day has ended, and you will have a fresh start tomorrow. Thank you for reading, #Gratitude.