Mental Fitness for Good Health

The Power of Gratitude

The power of gratitude or thankfulness can make people feel more connected.  Psychologist Jeffrey Froh ran an experiment with middle-aged children and found that gratitude had powerful and magical consequences.

Dr. Froh decided to study gratitude in school age children, because of a poor child’s gratitude for an over sized sports jacket given to him by a teacher, because the student was attending school without proper clothing.  Instead of feeling embarrassed and out of place, the child was genuinely elated and grateful.

Dr. Froh entitled his article, A Lesson in Thanks.  His article appeared in Greater Good Magazine.  Dr. Froh described his study and the results.

"In our study, we followed 221 middle school students for five weeks. We randomly assigned 11 classrooms to one of three conditions: gratitude, hassles, and a control group. Students in the gratitude condition were asked to record up to five things they were grateful for since the previous day. Students in the hassles condition were given similar directions, except to focus on irritants. Before this exercise, all of these students, along with students in a control group, completed questionnaires measuring their mental and physical health, and their attitudes and behavior toward others. They filled out the same questionnaires immediately after the two-week intervention, and then again three weeks later."

What are the benefits for expressing gratitude?  These benefits are:

• Higher levels of optimism,
• Appreciating close relationships,
• Greater satisfaction with school,
• Increased life satisfaction, and
• Decreased negative feelings.

The gratitude attitude was contagious.  Gratitude increased throughout the experiment by merely recalling up to five things for which the children were thankful. Expressing gratitude significantly changed the children’s perception of their lives, relationships, self-concepts and education.  Gratitude was indeed powerful.

Maybe somethings as simple as expressing gratitude, can work outside of the laboratory.  Teaching children to express gratitude may make children much more receptive to parental interventions and values.

Expressing gratitude in family relationships not only can  make you feel better, but expressing gratitude also can improve your relationships and make mundane activities become more meaningful and satisfying. Expressing gratitude can reduce negative thinking and behavior.

Today is really the best day to begin a life of gratitude.

Remember, You Live within the Environment Created by Your Choices!

Dr. Hal

Life and Mental Fitness Coach

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