Are You Grateful? Your Happiness Depends On It

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I came upon this article from Kent State University on the effects of gratefulness on our happiness.

We live in a society where we have more, spend more, want more, etc. yet we are not happy.

Why is that and what can we do to change our level of happiness?

Here is an interesting article from Kent State University on a project of writing gratitude letters to people who had positively impacted their lives.

This project reveals the strong impact gratitude has on our happiness.

Most fruitful in this article are the students who participated, they plan to continue writing letters of gratitude even after the class is over. Now that says something about the power of gratitude.

Just this past weekend, I had a friend call me up and say ” I called to tell you, I Love You.” That was the extent of the call, nothing more.

Imagine my surprise. Imagine where my level of happiness was at! Imagine how this friend made my day. My heart was full of gratitude for this friend and boy did I feel happiness.

Write a letter of gratitude or call someone to say “I Love You” today and watch your level of happiness soar.

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Gratefulness Leads to Happiness
By Rick Nauert, Ph.D.

Wednesday, Nov 26 (Psych Central) — Often the search for a fulfilling life is a journey of trial and error. A new study suggests a short cut may begin at the tip of a fountain pen.

Kent State University’s Dr. Steven Toepfer, an assistant professor of family and consumer studies says that expressive writing is something that has been available to mankind since ink first appeared in Egypt more than 4,000 years ago.

“Everyone is pursuing the American dream. We are wealthier than previous generations, consuming more and experiencing more, but yet so many of us are so unhappy,” Toepfer says.

“The question of ‘is there something simple we can do to be happier?’ is one that I have been thinking about for many years and one that has interested people for much longer.”

photo credit: *Zara

With that question in mind, Toepfer enlisted students from six courses to explore the effects of writing letters of gratitude to people who had positively impacted the students’ lives.

Over the course of a six-week period, students wrote one letter every two weeks with the simple ground rules that it had to be positively expressive, required some insight and reflection, were nontrivial and contained a high level of appreciation or gratitude.

After each letter, students completed a survey to gauge their moods, satisfaction with life and feelings of gratitude and happiness.

“I saw their happiness increase after each letter, meaning the more they wrote, the better they felt,” says Toepfer, who also witnessed improvement in participants’ life satisfaction and gratitude throughout the study.

“The most powerful thing in our lives is our social network. It doesn’t have to be large, and you don’t always need to be the life of the party, but just having one or two significant connections in your life has shown to have terrific psychological and physical benefits.”

In all, 75 percent of the students said they planned to continue to write letters of gratitude even when the course was over.

Studies demonstrate, according to Toepfer, that practicing expressive writing is often associated with fewer health problems, decreased depression, an improved immune system and improved grades.

“We are all walking around with an amazing resource: gratitude,” says Toepfer.

“It helps us express and enjoy, appreciate, be thankful and satisfied with a little effort. We all have it, and we need to use it to improve our quality of life.”

Source: Kent State University