CLEOEJACKSONIII.COM
  • My Home Page
  • My Life and Ministry
  • My Ongoing Thoughts
  • My Favorite Bible Verses
  • My Favorite Stories
  • My Favorite Jokes
  • My Favorite Quotations
  • My Favorite Web Links
  • My Contact Info
"Helping Others Communicate"

THANKS.  I FEEL BETTER NOW.

11/27/2015

 
As Thanksgiving, 2015, draws to an end, I thought I would share the following insightful observation.  According to a November 2011 article titled "In Praise of Gratitude" in the Harvard Mental Health Letter, studies now show that the amount of gratitude a person shows is directly related to his or her level of happiness. 

Simply put:  the more gratitude one shows, the more happiness he or she experiences.  And vice versa.  According to the two psychologists, Dr. Robert A. Emmons and Dr. Michael E. McCullough, who have done much of the research on gratitude, numerous studies now bear this out.

In one such study, participants were asked to write a few sentences each week, focusing on particular topics.  One group wrote about things they were grateful for that had occurred during the week.  A second group wrote about daily irritations or things that had displeased them, and the third wrote about events that had affected them (with no emphasis on them being positive or negative).  

All of these groups were studied for ten weeks.  At the end of the study period, it was determined that those who had written about gratitude were more optimistic and felt better about their lives.  Surprisingly, they also exercised more and had fewer visits to physicians than those who focused on sources of aggravation.

Another leading researcher in this field is Dr. Martin E. P. Seligman.  He tested the impact of various assignments given to help the mood of over 400 people.  When the subjects’ assignment was to write and personally deliver a letter of gratitude to someone who had never been properly thanked for his or her kindness, the participants immediately exhibited a huge increase in happiness scores.  Moreover, this impact was greater than that from any other assignment, with benefits lasting for as long as a month.

While it is important to note that studies such as this one cannot prove cause and effect, most of the studies published on this topic still support an association between gratitude and an individual's well-being.

So, how happy are you on this day after Thanksgiving? Accordingly, how appreciative have you been?  Remember: as goes the one, so goes the other! 

SOURCE:
http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/in-praise-of-gratitude.

Comments are closed.

    Cleo E. Jackson, III

    Occasionally I will add
    a few thoughts to my blog. If you find them inspirational, I will be
    honored.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010

    Categories

    All