You’ve spent the past two days eating way too much, and you’ve been beating up on yourself for almost as long. And now, you are making promises to yourself you can’t possibly or won’t keep. “I’m not going to eat anything today.” “I’m going to fast and just drink liquids.” “I’m going to go to the gym every day this week!” “Just water for me, please.” Or, you’ve already thrown in the towel and decided to spend the next few weeks eating anything and everything you want, since you’ve already blown both your diet and your good intentions.
If I’m reading your mind, take a deep breath.
That’s good, now take another one. Belly breathe, which means you not only inhale through your nose and fill your chest with air, you fill your stomach, as well. Pause and exhale slowly and a bit longer than you inhaled. Now, merely note “I probably ate more than I should have.” Follow with another deep, belly-filling breath. “Yup, I did.” “I wish I hadn’t, because now I feel bad about it.” And, breathe . . . Take two more deep breaths.
The deep breathing gives your brain enough time to focus on what you are saying and feeling, and will relax you even if you were feeling guilty or frustrated a few seconds before. Resting your brain also gives it time to readjust and switch gears, and that’s a good thing.
Tell yourself something positive.
“I’ve been in a tough place before and I have gotten myself out of it. I can do it again.” “I bet I can get back on track, if I slow down and really savor what I am eating.” “I know I can do this, and I will feel better about myself for cutting back.” “I am good at many things, one mistake does not a failure make.” “I love you, and I know you can do it!”
And, breathe. Keep the deep breathing going, as it not only relaxes you, it breaks the negative spiral your brain may lead you back to at this point. “Oh, why do I even try. I always overeat.” “I can’t lose weight, why do I even bother?” “My family just metabolizes food differently, other people eat more than me, and they are skinny; it’s not fair. . .” You’re right, it’s not fair, and I’m sorry you can’t just keep eating everything you want. It’s hard to pass up all that food, especially during the holidays, but you can do it.
Picture yourself at your ideal weight.
Create the vision you want to see of yourself. Picture yourself in your skinny jeans. Imagine how good it feels to zip them up with no trouble. Or envision yourself wearing that dress you love, how it glides over your hips or how good it feels to not have to add a jacket or shawl to cover your jiggling bits. The more detailed and real the picture is in your mind, the more likely you are to achieve it.
The key is to create the image that works for you. You will know what works for you when it feels real and makes you feel good at the same time. (We spend so much time predicting disasters in our lives or rehashing our mistakes – perceived or real, why not tip the scales in your favor and begin predicting positive outcomes or pictures?)
Mentally give the you in your vision a hug!
This may sound silly, but do it, because that is the you that you genuinely want to embrace. The you, you know you want to be. You can physically hug the real you, as well, which will release the “love hormone” oxytocin. (A 20-second hug, even if it is self-administered, can lower stress. Simply wrap your arms around yourself and gently rub your arms. Give it a try, I just did and could not help smiling- an added bonus!)
Now, figure out what you can do today to get back on track.
Throw out the leftovers. I hate wasting food, most of us do, but yesterday I chose my health and happiness over my aversion to wasting and tossed lots of leftovers. I also made a mental note to cook, bake and buy less food in the weeks ahead. (Picture the you, you want to be each time you head into the grocery store, it will help you resist temptation!)
Find your walking or running shoes, put them on and head out the door. Walk, or run up and down the stairs a few times. Stretch. Hold your arms out to your sides and make small circles, 20 times forward and then 20 times backwards. Crank up some holiday tunes and dance. Get your kids, grand kids or significant to join the fun. Do whatever you have to do to feel energized and good about yourself.
Remember to take a moment to breathe deeply and often throughout the day – it takes practice, but is worth the effort. And, bring the mental picture of the you you want to be wherever you go. Every time temptation strikes – and it will – envision that you. When you wake up and before you go to sleep – breathe deeply and slowly and picture that you. Make your vision a part of your life, and it will be!
You are no longer alone, and you have a plan.
Breathing deeply and picturing the new you are the perfect holiday gift to give yourself. After all, ’tis the season for believing, why not start believing in yourself?
‘Tis the season when holiday parties dot or engulf our calendars. While many are fun and festive, thinking about attending others may be adding to our holiday stress.
Have you ever dreaded going to a family, office, or neighborhood holiday gathering?
Or, maybe you’ve worried that your own event might not turn out “right.”
You are not alone. Attending and hosting holiday gatherings is a big contributor to holiday stress; accepting and sending invitations can make us feel like jumping for joy or running for cover!
Not to worry, my “5 P’s” can help you reduce your holiday happening woes.
“5 P’s for Perfect Party Planning”
1. PRIORITIZE
If you are dreading attending an event, not going may be a perfectly valid option.If your schedule is too full, and you need to prioritize time with family or you’re just not up to it, let the host or hostess know as far in advance as possible. Last minute cancellations, except for true emergencies, are a no-no and just add to everyone’s holiday stress. If you can’t make it, after sending or calling with your regrets, send a short, but sweet email, FB message, note, or card as a follow-up, and then try to arrange to share time together after the holiday rush. The goal is to let them know you care, even though you can’t be there.
2. PREDICT BETTER
Thinking about a positive outcome – even for a few minutes, will make you happier than worrying about a negative outcome for weeks, days or hours in advance – predict success! Parties and life get better when we predict better. Take a minute or two and picture the party working out great. Picture yourself leaving the soiree thinking, “Wow, that wasn’t so bad. In fact, I had a great time.” or “OMG, that was wonderful.” Envision whatever works best for you; the more details you create, the better. If you’re hosting an event, and are nervous about how it will go, picture everyone complimenting your food, decorations, (or whatever you really want them to compliment) and telling you what a great time they are having.
3. PREPARE – CREATE PLAN B, C, D
If you fear the folks or the situation, giving yourself options in advance will help you relax. And if you are creative with your “blanks”, they may provide you with a few well-needed laughs. Come-up with what you will do if you do find yourself getting frustrated or bored. “When I start feeling ___________ (frustrated, angry, annoyed, impatient, bored, out-of-place, etc.) I will ___________ . Fill-in the blank with a series of workable options: check on the kids; compliment someone; help with the food or dishes; play with the kids; walk the dog; ask about vacations or recipes; sneak a peek at presents; dance; sing; play the piano, or move to a new chair or room (without making your exit too dramatic!) Be sure to include some fun and out-of-the-box options that you would never or can’t do, but make you smile: standing on your head, releasing a protective shield, spinning like a top, floating above the guests – get creative, have fun with it!
4. PAY ATTENTION
Shifting your attention from your worries to the eyes of others is a great way to focus on what really matters. When people are talking to you don’t worry about what you are going to say in response or look above their heads or around the room, simply notice their eyes. Take a second to really look into their eyes. This small, but meaningful gesture will let them know you are really listening and will bring you fully into the moment, which can lift your mood and theirs. You’ll be amazed how relaxing and rewarding it will be. (Most of us think we are already doing this, but more often than not, our minds and our eyes are focused on something else.)
5. PUT OTHERS IN THE LIMELIGHT
Focusing on what you can learn about others can lead to rich conversations and connections. I use this strategy almost every time I attend a party where there will be lots of folks I don’t know or don’t know well. Although I’m an extrovert, I’m a closet introvert at parties. I’ve done PR and special events for years, and I’m completely comfortable in those realms, but for some reason small talk at social gatherings is often difficult for me.
I’ve learned to take a few minutes before going to a party to think of at least three things I have enjoyed learning about folks in the past. I love finding out what people like to do in their spare time, what they enjoy about their professions, where they grew-up, or where they like to go on vacation. Another favorite topic, especially at this time of year, is to ask about their favorite Thanksgiving or Christmas or how they celebrated the holidays as children. I always learn something new and interesting. Before you head to the party, remind yourself that if you feel nervous or self-conscious, you will ask about ________, __________, ___________. With those thoughts in mind, it will be easier to shine the light on others and to keep it shining as you ask follow-up questions about what they’ve shared. When we put others in the limelight, we are giving them a precious gift – being heard. It’s a priceless gift, something everyone wants, and we can deliver it anytime, anywhere.
Each of the “5 P’s for Perfect Party Planning” is cost and calorie-free, and will enhance your experience at any event. The “5 P’s” work so well because they put the emphasis on people not the party, which is a warm and wonderful way to celebrate the holidays.
P.S. This is an updated post from 2010. Since holiday happenings, happen each year, I thought I’d make this column an annual event, as well. Do you have tips that have worked well for you? If so please share them! We’d love to hear about your best holiday party experiences.
It’s time to create a less stressed holiday season for you and your family with my foolproof holiday survival plan!
I first shared this post in 2010, and for years made it was my annual Monday-after Thanksgiving post, but since the holiday season seems to be starting earlier and earlier each year, I thought I would share it with you today . . .
Many, many years ago in the wee hours of the morning, after yet another exhausting holiday baking binge, I had a groggy-eyed epiphany: I was ruining my holiday! My husband and two young sons didn’t care if they had dozens and dozens of homemade, hand-twisted candy cane and other complicated cookies, nor did they care if we had the “perfect” tree or artfully wrapped gifts, I did. What they did care about – and I wasn’t giving them – was a well-rested, stress-free happy wife and mother.
I was the problem. Don’t you hate when that happens? The good news is: the problems we create – we can fix, and since they are the only ones we really have any control over, they are a great place to put our energy.
After a few hours of sleep (and an attitude adjustment), I came up with a holiday survival plan that was simple and successful; I gathered everyone together and asked the following questions:
What do you need to have the holidays feel wonderful to you?
What cookie do you want?
What food must be served?
What decoration must be displayed?
What activity must be included?
I was shocked when my husband and sons quickly agreed they only wanted chocolate chip cookies – no Christmas cookies? Fortunately, I ignored my born-to-bake Polish upbringing, and my sons and their Dad began a baking tradition that has outlasted high school, college, divorce, and grandchildren.
Next, they all agreed that visiting Santa and having lunch downtown was tops for them; I threw in a night-time activity at a nearby park, and our schedule was set. (Church services and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day family gatherings were a given for us.)
Favorite decorations turned out to be things we had made in earlier years. (The tree was another given, but we later simplified decorating it, as well.) The selected dinner dishes were simple to make: my husband and I voted for standing rib-roast and Yorkshire pudding (much easier to make than it sounds), and the boys wanted plain-old mashed potatoes and green bean casserole.
Problem solved – everyone was included, happy and satisfied. Oh, I had my internal struggles about giving up my “perfect” holiday, but one stress-free season made a believer out of me. I quickly realized I was focusing my attention on the people I loved and the things that made each of us happy, which gave me the perfect holiday I had been seeking.
If you would like to create your own satisfying and low-stress holiday zone, here’s how:
It’s time to create a stress-free holiday for you and your family with my foolproof holiday survival plan! I first shared this post in 2010, and have now made it my annual Monday-after Thanksgiving gift to you . . .
Many, many years ago in the wee hours of the morning, after yet another exhausting holiday baking binge, I had a groggy-eyed epiphany: I was ruining my holiday. My husband and two young sons didn’t care if they had dozens and dozens of homemade, hand-twisted candy cane and other complicated cookies, nor did they care if we had the “perfect” tree or artfully wrapped gifts, I did. What they did care about – and I wasn’t giving them – was a well-rested, stress-free, happy wife and mother.
I was the problem. Don’t you hate when that happens? The good news is: the problems we create – we can fix, and since they are the only ones we really have any control over, they are a great place to put our energy.
After a few hours of sleep (and an attitude adjustment), I came up with a holiday survival plan that was simple and successful; I gathered everyone together and asked the following questions:
What do you need to have the holidays feel wonderful to you?
What cookie do you want?
What food must be served?
What decoration must be displayed?
What activity must be included?
I was shocked when my husband and sons quickly agreed they only wanted chocolate chip cookies – no Christmas cookies? Fortunately, I ignored my born-to-bake Polish upbringing, and my sons and their Dad began a baking tradition that has outlasted high school, college, divorce and grandchildren.
Next, they all agreed that visiting Santa and having lunch downtown was tops for them; I threw in a night-time activity at a nearby park, and our schedule was set. (Church services and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day family gatherings were a given for us.)
Favorite decorations turned out to be things we had made in earlier years. (The tree was another given, but we later simplified decorating it, as well.) The selected dinner dishes were simple to make: my husband and I voted for standing rib-roast and Yorkshire pudding (much easier to make than it sounds), and the boys wanted plain-old mashed potatoes and green bean casserole.
Problem solved – everyone was included, happy and satisfied. Oh, I had my internal struggles about giving up my “perfect” holiday, but one stress-free season made a believer out of me. I quickly realized I was focusing my attention on the people I loved and the things that made each of us happy, which gave me that perfect holiday I had been seeking.
If you would like to create your own satisfying and low-stress holiday zone, here’s how:
Happy Thanksgiving! I thought today was a great day to share with you this wonderful post by Amit Amin from his blog “Happier Human”. As you know, I usually write the Wishful Thinking Works posts, but since this is a holiday extra and I’m so thankful that Amit has gathered such a fantastic collection of facts and figures about “How Gratitude Can Change Your Life”, I thought I would share it with you.
I hope you enjoy it whether you read it today, tomorrow, over the weekend or in the weeks ahead. I know gratitude works, because even though I am thousands of miles from my family my heart is full with the kindness of my friends here and the knowledge that Peace Corps has brought us together again!
The 31 Benefits of Gratitude You Didn’t Know About:
How Gratitude Can Change Your Life
by Amit Amin
Do you want more from your life?
More happiness? Better health? Deeper relationships? Increased productivity?
What if I told you that just one thing can help you in all of those areas?
An Attitude of Gratitude
What the heck? Gratitude? Is this a Christian blog?
No. I’m not even religious. When I first started looking into gratitude, I wasn’t expecting much.
I was wrong:
Seriously? All that? Yes. This list of benefits was compiled by aggregating the results of more than 40 research studies on gratitude.
1. Gratitude makes us happier.
A five-minute a day gratitude journal can increase your long-term well-being by more than 10 percent.a1,a2,a3 That’s 2.5x the impact of winning more than $1,000,000 in the lottery!a4
How does a free five minute activity do what $1,000,000+ can’t? Gratitude improves our health, relationships, emotions, personality, and career.
Sure, $1,000,000 is pretty awesome, but because of hedonic adaption we quickly get used to the money and stop having as much fun and happiness as we did at first.
How can 5 minutes a day have such a large impact?
Gratitude makes us feel more gratitude.
This is why a five-minute a week gratitude journal can make us so much happier. The actual gratitude produced during those five minutes is small, but the emotions of gratitude felt during those five-minutes are enough to trigger a grateful mood.
While in a grateful mood, we will feel gratitude more frequently, when we do feel gratitude it will be more intense and held for longer, and we will feel gratitude for more things at the same time.
In five words – gratitude triggers positive feedback loops.
Hedonic what?
After repeated exposure to the same emotion-producing stimulus, we tend to experience less of the emotion. Put more simply, we get use to the good things that happen to us. This also means that we get use to the bad things that happen to us. Those who have been disabled have a remarkable ability to rebound – initially they may feel terrible, but after months or years they are on average just as happy as everyone else.
Hedonic adaption gives unparalleled resiliency, and keeps us motivated to achieve ever greater things. It also kills our marriages – we get use to our amazing spouse (or kids, or job, or house, or car, or game). We stop seeing as much positive and start complaining. It is a psychological imperative to fight hedonic adaption if we want to maximize happiness. Gratitude is one of the most powerful tools in our arsenal.
Why does it take several months?
In all relevant studies, changes occurred slowly. It took several months of continuous practice for the largest benefits to appear. This is for two reasons:
Cultivating gratitude is a skill. After three months of practice, I now have the ability to self-generate slight feelings of gratitude and happiness on command. With more time and practice, I expect the intensity and duration of the generated feelings to increase.
Gratitude is a personality trait. Some people have more grateful personalities than others. Daily gratitude practice can change our personality, but that takes a long time.
2. Gratitude makes people like us.
Gratitude generates social capital – in two studies with 243 total participants, those who were 10% more grateful than average had 17.5% more social capital.b1
Gratitude makes us nicer, more trusting, more social, and more appreciative. As a result, it helps us make more friends, deepen our existing relationships, and improve our marriage.b2
Bonus question: Is that first picture actually of me? Hm… I wonder…
Obviously not. I’m a handsome, healthy, and popular young man. I would never be working alone in the dark on my computer writing a blog post.
3. Gratitude makes us healthier.
Check it out:
There is even reason to believe gratitude can extend your lifespan by a few months or even years.f2,f3,f4
4. Gratitude boosts our career.
Gratitude makes you a more effective manager,c1,c2 helps you network, increases your decision making capabilities, increases your productivity, and helps you get mentors and proteges.b1 As a result, gratitude helps you achieve your career goals, as well as making your workplace a more friendly and enjoyable place to be.a2, b2
Do you think this is effective?
I’m not suggesting that criticism and self-focus don’t have a place in the workplace, but I think we’re overdoing it.
65% of Americans didn’t receive recognition in the workplace last year.c3
5. Gratitude strengthens our emotions.
Gratitude reduces feelings of envy, makes our memories happier, lets us experience good feelings, and helps us bounce back from stress.b2,d1,d2,d3
6. Gratitude develops our personality.
It really does, and in potentially life-changing ways.a2,b2,d2,e1,e2
If you’re a man, don’t worry; gratitude won’t transform you into a woman.
Not convinced? Want to know the details or explore the science that backs up these claims? Click below to go to the specific category or benefit that interests you, or just continue scrolling.
7. Gratitude makes us more optimistic.Gratitude is strongly correlated with optimism. Optimism in turn makes us happier, improves our health, and has been shown to increase lifespan by as much as a few years.f1,f2,f3,f4 I’d say a 5 minute a day gratitude journal would be worth it just for this benefit.
Show me the science.
In one study of keeping a weekly gratitude journal, participants showed a 5% increase in optimism.a2
In another study, keeping a daily gratitude journal resulted in a 15% increase in optimism.a2
Optimism is significantly correlated with gratitude (r=.51).e2 The above studies show that it isn’t just correlation – increasing one’s level of gratitude increases one’s level of optimism.
How does gratitude increase optimism?
The act of gratitude is the act of focusing on the good in life. If we perceive our current life to have more good, we will also believe our future life to have more good. Optimism is correlated with gratitude because those with an optimistic disposition are biologically more likely to focus on the good (gratitude) than on the bad (personal disappointment, anxiety, etc…).
8. Gratitude reduces materialism.
Materialism is strongly correlated with reduced well-being and increased rates of mental disorder.g1 There’s nothing wrong with wanting more. The problem with materialism is that it makes people feel less competent, reduces feelings of relatedness and gratitude, reduces their ability to appreciate and enjoy the good in life, generates negative emotions, and makes them more self-centered.g1,g2,g3
Why is materialism negatively correlated with happiness and well-being?
The pursuit of wealth and power has been shown in dozens of studies to be a highly inefficient method of increasing well-being and happiness. To be sure, if your income doubles you will be slightly happier. But how much effort do you think is involved in doubling your income? How many sacrifices are required? Motivational speakers will tell you that the money is worth the sacrifices. I disagree.
Applying that same level of energy towards strengthening one’s relationships, cultivating compassion and gratitude, and so on much more reliably creates positive, transformative change.
Said differently, material success is not a very important factor in the happiness of highly grateful people.
How does gratitude reduce materialism?
Materialism flows from two sources: role models and insecurity.
Americans are inundated with materialistic role models every day: from advertisements which highlight materialistic themes, to celebrity culture which glorifies the rich and frivolous, to business culture in which we are told our dreams should be to be rich and powerful. Gratitude helps by reducing our tendency to compare ourselves to those with a higher social status.
Those who are insecure, that is, those that have not had their basic psychological needs met (e.g. those who lack confidence, come from a poor background, or had unsupportive parents), are more likely to be materialistic. Gratitude is an effective strategy for reducing insecurity. A grateful emotion is triggered when we perceive an act of benevolence directed towards us. Those who are dispositionally ungrateful are therefore less likely to perceive acts of benevolence, even if they are surrounded by a loving environment. Flipped around, those who cultivate an attitude of gratitude are more likely to perceive an environment of benevolence, which in turn causes their brains to assume they are in an environment full of social support, which in turn kills insecurity and materialism.
Will gratitude make me lazy?
Those who are more materialistic are more likely to relentlessly pursue wealth. So while gratitude won’t make you lazy, over your lifetime you may end up earning less money. You will instead re-focus on other things. You may, for example, spend time with friends, family, and your hobbies. That’s a good thing.
Regret #2: Working too hard.
Gratitude has caused me to focus less on things that don’t matter, like making money, and more on the things that do, like my family and this blog. I think that’s a good thing.
9. Gratitude increases spiritualism.
Spiritual transcendence is highly correlated with feelings of gratitude. That is – the more spiritual you are, the more likely you are to be grateful.
This is for two reasons:
All major religions espouse gratitude as a virtue.h1
Spirituality spontaneously gives rise to grateful behavior.
I believe the opposite to also be true, that gratitude spontaneously gives rise to spiritual attribution, helping one feel closer to God or other religious entities. I am irreligious, and have found gratitude practices to make my spiritual position difficult – those moments when I feel intense gratitude make me want to believe in a benevolent God. My solution has been to re-direct my feelings towards Lady Luck.
Why does spirituality give rise to grateful behavior?
Many of the sub-traits associated with spirituality are the same sub-traits associated with gratitude. For example, spiritual individuals are more likely to feel a strong spiritual or emotional connection with others, and to believe in inter-connectedness. Both are prerequisites for feeling gratitude – someone who feels weak connections with others, and who believes in the illusion of self-sufficiency is unlikely to feel gratitude.
10. Gratitude makes us less self-centered.
I’ll be totally honest, I’m a self-centered twat. I’m a lot better now that I’ve brought gratitude into my life, but I still spend way too much time thinking about myself, and too little thinking about others. I expect this to change – because of my compassion and gratitude practices I am starting to have spontaneous urges to help others.
This is because the very nature of gratitude is to focus on others (on their acts of benevolence). In this regard, gratitude practice can be better than self-esteem therapy. Self-esteem therapy focuses the individual back on themselves: I’m smart, I look good, I can succeed, etc….
That can work, but it can also make us narcissistic or even back-fire and lower self-esteem.i1
11. Gratitude increases self-esteem.
Imagine a world where no one helps you. Despite your asking and pleading, no one helps you.
Now imagine a world where many people help you all of the time for no other reason than that they like you. In which world do you think you would have more self-esteem? Gratitude helps to create a world like that.
How does gratitude create a more supportive social dynamic?
Gratitude does this in two ways:
Gratitude has been shown in multiple studies to make people kinder and more friendly, and that because of that, grateful people have more social capital. This means that grateful people are actually more likely to receive help from others for no reason other than that they are liked and appreciated.
Gratitude increases your recognition of benevolence. For example, a person with low self-esteem may view an act of kindness with a skeptical eye, thinking that the benefactor is trying to get something from them. A grateful person would take the kindness at face value, believing themselves to be a person worthy of receiving no-strings-attached kindness.
Health
12. Gratitude improves your sleep.
Gratitude increases sleep quality, reduces the time required to fall asleep, and increases sleep duration. Said differently, gratitude can help with insomnia.a2,j1
The key is what’s on our minds as we’re trying to fall asleep. If it’s worries about the kids, or anxiety about work, the level of stress in our body will increase, reducing sleep quality, keeping us awake, and cutting our sleep short.
If it’s thinking about a few things we have to be grateful for today, it will induce the relaxation response, knock us out, and keep us that way.
Yes – gratitude is a (safe and free) sleep aid.
I don’t believe you!
In one study of 65 subjects with a chronic pain condition, those who were assigned a daily gratitude journal to be completed at night reported half an hour more sleep than the control group.a2
In another study of 400 healthy people, those participants who had higher scores on a gratitude test also had significantly better sleep. They reported faster time to sleep, improved sleep quality, increased sleep duration, and less difficulty staying awake during the day.j1 This is not because their life was simply better – levels of gratitude are more dependent on personality and life perspective than on life situation.
13. Gratitude keeps you away from the doctor.
Gratitude can’t cure cancer (neither can positive-thinking), but it can strengthen your physiological functioning.
Positive emotion improves health. The details are complicated, but the overall picture is not – if you want to improve your health, improve your mind. This confidence comes from 137 research studies.
Gratitude is a positive emotion. It’s no far stretch that some of the benefits (e.g. better coping & management of terminal conditions like cancer and HIV,k1,k2 faster recovery from certain medical procedures, positive changes in immune system functioning,k3 more positive health behavior,k4,k5 etc…) apply to gratitude as well.
In fact, some recent science shows just that – those who engage in gratitude practices have been shown to feel less pain, go to the doctor less often, have lower blood pressure, and be less likely to develop a mental disorder.a1,a2,k6
How does gratitude improve my health?
The science on how is still unclear. Here are two ideas:
Gratitude reduces levels of stress by activating the parasympathetic nervous system. Stress in turn has been shown to disrupt healthy body functioning (e.g disrupting the hypothalamic-pituitary axis, the immune system, our sleep, etc…).
Gratitude encourages pro-health behavior like exercising and paying attention to health risks.
14. Gratitude lets you live longer.
I will be honest with you – by combining the results of a few different studies I’m confident that gratitude can extend lifespan, but no single study as yet has actually proven this claim.
Here is what we know: optimism and positive emotion in general have been used to successfully predict mortality decades later.f2,f3,f4 The optimistic lived a few years longer than the pessimistic. A few years may not sound like much, but I know when I’m about to die I’d like to have a few more years!
We also know that gratitude is strongly correlated with positive emotion. So, gratitude –> positive emotion –> an extra few months or years on earth. With positive psychology research on the rise, I believe we can expect this claim to be rigorously tested within the next five to ten years.
15. Gratitude increase your energy levels.
Gratitude and vitality are strongly correlated – the grateful are much more likely to report physical and mental vigor.
Show me the data.
Study of 238 people found a correlation of .46 between vitality and gratitude.e2
Study of 1662 people found a correlation of .38 between vitality and gratitude. Same study found correlations above .3 even after controlling for the levels of: extroversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, and perceived social desirability.e2 This means that vitality and gratitude are strongly correlated even after considering the possibility that they are correlated because high-energy people and high-gratitude people share personality traits like extroversion in common.
Do people with more energy tend to experience more gratitude, does gratitude lead to increased energy, or is something else going on?
I believe it’s two of those three:
People with high levels of vitality tend to have some of the same traits that highly grateful people do, like high levels of optimism and life satisfaction.
Gratitude increases physical and mental well-being, which in turn increases energy levels.
16. Gratitude makes you more likely to exercise.
In one 11-week study of 96 Americans, those who were instructed to keep a weekly gratitude journal exercised 40 minutes more per week than the control group.a2 No other study has yet to replicate these results. It could be because other gratitude studies testing this effect have been much shorter – in the range of one to three weeks, or it could be because this result was a fluke.
Once again, time will tell – but it would not surprise me if being grateful for one’s health would increase one’s tendency to want to protect it by exercising more.
Emotional
17. Gratitude helps us bounce back.
Those that have more gratitude have a more pro-active coping style, are more likely to have and seek out social support in times of need, are less likely to develop PTSD, and are more likely to grow in times of stress.b1,b2,d1
In others words, they are more resilient.
18. Gratitude makes us feel good.
Surprise, surprise: gratitude actually feels good. Yet only 20% of Americans rate gratitude as a positive and constructive emotion (compared to 50% of Europeans).l1
According to gratitude researcher Robert Emmons, gratitude is just happiness that we recognize after-the fact to have been caused by the kindness of others. Gratitude doesn’t just make us happier, it is happiness in and of itself!
That’s no surprise – we idealize the illusion of self-sufficiency. Gratitude, pah! That’s for the weak.
F&ck no it’s not. Gratitude feels good, and if the benefits on this page are any indication – gratitude will make you stronger, healthier, and more successful.
Are you afraid to admit that luck, God, family members, friends, and/or strangers have and will continue to strongly influence your life? I once was – not only was I less happy, I was also weaker. It takes strength to admit to the truth of inter-dependency.
19. Gratitude makes our memories happier.
Our memories are not set in stone, like data stored on a hard-drive. There are dozens of ways our memories get changed over time – we remember things as being worse than they actually were, as being longer or shorter, people as being kinder or crueler, as being more or less interesting, and so on.
Experiencing gratitude in the present makes us more likely to remember positive memories,m1 and actually transforms some of our neutral or even negative memories into positive ones.m2 In one study, putting people into a grateful mood helped them find closure of upsetting open memories.m2 During these experiences, participants were more likely to recall positive aspects of the memory than usual, and some of the negative and neutral aspects were transformed into positives.
A small bit of jealousy or envy directed at the right target is motivating. Too much produces feelings of insecurity, materialism, inferiority, distrust, and unhappiness.
How does gratitude reduce feelings of envy?
The personality trait of envy has a correlation of -.39 with the personality trait of gratitude. In addition, on days when people experience more gratitude, they are also more likely to experience less envy.e2
This is likely because an attitude of envy and an attitude of gratitude are largely incompatible. Just like it is impossible to feel optimistic and pessimistic at the same time, gratitude is the act of perceiving benevolence, while envy and jealousy is the act of perceiving inadequacy. Benevolence and inadequacy cannot be completely perceived at the same time.
21. Gratitude helps us relax.
Gratitude and positive emotion in general are among the strongest relaxants known to man. I was having trouble sleeping a few nights ago because I was too stressed and couldn’t relax. I’ll be honest, for the few minutes that I was able to hold feelings of gratitude I almost fell asleep, but holding feelings of gratitude is hard! In this case, too hard – I ended up getting out of bed.
Gratitude may be just as or even more effective than relaxation methods such as deep breathing, but because it is also more difficult, is unfeasible as an actual relaxation technique. Think of it like tea – one or two cups help you relax – three of four make you want to empty your bladder. But it could just be me. Perhaps you’ll find practices of gratitude more natural and easy.
Social
22. Gratitude makes you friendlier.
Multiple studies have shown that gratitude induces pro-social behavior. Keeping a gratitude journal is enough to make you more likely to help others with their problems and makes you more likely to offer them emotional support.a2,b1
Why?
There are two main reasons.
Gratitude helps us perceive kindness, which we have a natural tendency to want to reciprocate. Without the feeling of gratitude, we may not recognize when someone is helping us (the same way anger lets us know when someone is trying to harm us).
Gratitude makes us happier and more energetic, both of which are highly linked to pro-social behavior.
23. Gratitude helps your marriage.
I’ve never been married, but from what I’ve heard, read, and seen, one way marriages start to suffer is that when the passion starts to fizzle, the partners become less appreciative and more naggy.
Scientists have put numbers to our intuition and experience, creating an appreciation to naggy ratio. More formally called the Losada ratio, it divides the total number of positive expressions (support, encouragement and appreciation) made during a typical interaction by the number of negative expressions (disapproval, sarcasm, and cynicism).
When the ratio was below .9, that is there were 11% more negative expressions than positive expressions, marriages plummeted towards divorce or languishment. Those marriages that lasted and were found satisfying were those with a positivity ratio above 5.1 (five positive expressions to each negative).s1
Building regular practices of gratitude into your marriage is an easy but effective way of raising your positivity ratio.
Correlation or causality?
Does the positivity ratio actually change the dynamics of a marriage, or does it simply reflect underlying happiness or conflict? Would ‘faking’ a higher positivity ratio actually change the dynamics of your marriage, or would it be the same as faking your income on a survey – it may let you temporarily feel better, but it doesn’t actually make you any richer?
There is reason to believe it is both. What we say and how we act becomes who we are. Faking a smile has been shown to actually make people happier. But the effect is only so strong. I believe that for gratitude to truly effect a marriage, it must come from the heart. With enough practice and effort, it can.
P.S. You shouldn’t take the numbers too literally. A good rule of thumb is three or four positives for each negative means you’re doing well.
24. Gratitude makes you look good.
Ingratitude is universally regarded with contempt. It’s opposite, gratitude, is considered a virtue in all major religions and most modern cultures. It may not be sexy to be grateful, but people will respect you for it.
Gratitude is not the same thing as indebtedness, which we rightly avoid. Indebtedness is a negative emotion which carries an assumption of repayment.
Gratitude is not the same thing as weakness. Weakness is flattery or subservience.
Gratitude is the acknowledgment of kindness with thanks.
It takes big balls to acknowledge that we didn’t get to where we are all on our own – that without others we may never have made it. That’s why, just maybe, gratitude may be sexy too.
25. Gratitude helps you make friends.
When I was in college I found it really easy to make new friends. If I hadn’t moved out of NYC it would still be easy – living in a farm town makes it difficult. I’ve found an effective way to start a conversation or move a relationship forward is an expression of gratitude, “thank you for that coffee, it was super delicious.” *wink, wink*
Ah, my mistake – that’s actually what I use to hit on my barista.
But you get the point.
26. Gratitude deepens friendships.
I have one friend who always deeply thanks me for taking the time to see her. That makes me feel appreciated and that makes me feel good. Wouldn’t it make you feel good too?
Career
27. Gratitude makes you a more effective manager.
Effective management requires a toolbox of skills. Criticism comes all too easily to most, while the ability to feel gratitude and express praise is often lacking.
Timely, sincere, specific, behavior focused praise is often a more powerful method of influencing change than criticism. Specifically, multiple studies have found expressions of gratitude to be highly motivating, while expressions of criticism to be slightly de-motivating but providing more expectation clarification.t1,t2
Contrary to expectation, if praise is moderate and behavior focused, repeat expressions of gratitude will not lose their impact, and employee performance will increase.2
Because of our culture, expressions of gratitude are often difficult to give – cultivating an attitude of gratitude will help.
I’ve seen firsthand the powerful difference between interacting with subordinates more with praise, and interacting with some more with criticism. Those I’ve given more praise are more enthusiastic about working with me, express more creativity, and are so much more fun to work with.
Gratitude has been shown across a number of studies to increase social behavior. Two longitudinal studies showed that those with higher levels of gratitude actually developed more social capital than those with lower levels.
Gratitude helps you get mentors, protégés, and benefactors.
Those who are more grateful are more likely to help others, and to pay it forward, that is, to take on mentoring relationships. But I’m guessing you care more about getting help from mentors and benefactors than being a mentor yourself. Well, that makes sense – having one or more mentors dramatically increases one’s success rate.
The first level is simple – those who are grateful are more social and also more likely to ask for help. But it goes one step further – we all ask for help at one time, one of the key differences between one-off help and establishing a mentoring relationship is gratitude.
Flipped around, what is it that makes a person want to help you on a continuous basis? Gratitude – when their wisdom, experience, and time are well appreciated, mentors will find enjoyment from the process, continuing to help you for weeks, months, or years.
29. Gratitude increases your goal achievement.
In one study, participants were asked to write down those goals which they wished to accomplish over the next two months. Those who were instructed to keep a gratitude journal reported more progress on achieving their goals at the end of the study. One result doesn’t make science – what you should take away from this is that, at the least, gratitude will not make you lazy and passive. It might even do the opposite!
30. Gratitude improves your decision making.
Decision making is really tiring – so tiring that we automate to our subconscious much of the reasoning that goes behind making a decision. Even for the most basic of decisions, like where to go eat, there are dozens of variables to consider: how much time and money do I want to spend, what cuisine would I like today, am I willing to travel far, what should I get once I get there, and so on. If you deliberated on each of these decisions one at a time, your mind would be overwhelmed.
The problem gets even worse for more complex decisions like making a diagnosis.
In one study, doctors were given a list of ailments from a hypothetical patient and also given a misleading piece of information—that the patient had been diagnosed at another hospital as having lupus. Half the doctors had gratitude evoked by giving them a token of appreciation. Those who did not receive a token of appreciation were more likely to stick with the incorrect diagnosis of lupus; those who did receive the gratitude were energized to expend more energy and to pay their gratitude forward onto their patient. They also considered a wider range of treatment options.
The above study shows that gratitude motivates improved decision making. Those who cultivate an attitude of gratitude find tokens of appreciation every day, on their own.
31. Gratitude increases your productivity.
Those who are insecure have difficulty focusing because many of their mental resources are tied up with their worries. On the other hand, those who are highly confident are able to be more productive, because they can direct more of their focus towards their work. This operates at both a conscious and subconscious level – we may be getting mentally distracted by our worries, or more commonly, parts of our subconscious mind are expending energy to suppress negative information and concerns.z1
As gratitude has been shown to increase self-esteem and reduce insecurity, this means that it can help us focus and improve our productivity.
Gratitude is no cure-all, but it is a massively underutilized tool for improving life-satisfaction and happiness.
References
a1. Positive Psychology Progress (2005, Seligman, M. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C.)
a2. Counting Blessings Versus Burdens: An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Daily Life
a3. Gratitude Uniquely Predicts Satisfaction with Life: Incremental Validity Above the Domains and Facets of the Five Factor Model
a4. The Effects of Winning The Lottery on Happiness, Life Satisfaction, and Mood
b1. The Role of Gratitude in The Development of Social Support, Stress, and Depression: Two Longitudinal Studies
b2. Why Gratitude Enhances Well-Being: What We Know, What We Need to Know
c1. Stone, D. I., & Stone, E. F. (1983). The Effects of Feedback Favorability and Feedback Consistency. Academy Of Management Proceedings (00650668), 178-182. doi:10.5465/AMBPP.1983.4976341
c2. Jaworski, B. J., & Kohl, A. K. (1991). Supervisory Feedback: Alternative Types and Their Impact on Salespeople’s Performance and Satisfaction. Journal Of Marketing Research (JMR), 28(2), 190-201.
c3. This number has been floating around the internet, but I was actually unable to find the original source. It may be wrong, or I may not have looked in the right places.
d1. Coping Style as a Psychological Resource of Grateful People
d2. Positive Responses to Benefit and Harm: Bringing Forgiveness and Gratitude into Cognitive Psychotherapy
d3. Gratitude in Intermediate Affective Terrain: Links of Grateful Moods to Individual Differences and Daily Emotional Experience
e1. Is Gratitude an Alternative to Materialism?
e2. The Grateful Disposition: A Conceptual and Empirical Topography
f1. C. Peterson, L. Bossio. “Optimism and Physical Wellbeing.” Optimism & Pessimism: Implications for Theory, Research, and Practice. Ed. E. Chang. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2001: 127-145.
f2. Positive Emotions in Early Life and Longevity: Findings From The Nun Study
f3. Optimistics vs. Pessimists Survival Rate Among Medical Patients Over a 30-Year Period
f4. Prediction of All-Cause Mortality by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory Optimism-Pessimism Scale Scores: Study of a College Sample During a 40-Year Follow-up Period.
g1. Kashdan, T. B., & Breen, W. E. (2007). MATERIALISM AND DIMINISHED WELL-BEING: EXPERIENTIAL AVOIDANCE AS A MEDIATING MECHANISM. Journal Of Social & Clinical Psychology, 26(5), 521-539.
g2. Belk , R. W. ( 1985 ). Materialism: Trait aspects of living in the material world . Journal of Consumer Research, 12, 265 – 280
g3. Sheldon , K. M. , & Kasser , T. ( 1995 ). Coherence and congruence: Two aspects of personality integration . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 531 543 .
h1. Emmons RA, Crumpler CA. Gratitude as human strength: Appraising the evidence. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology. 2000;19:849–857.
i1. Spinney, L. (2012). All about ME. New Scientist, 214(2862), 44-47.
j1. Gratitude Influences Sleep Through the Mechanism of Pre-Sleep Cognitions
k1. Benight C, Bandura A. Social cognitive theory of posttraumatic recovery: The role of perceived self efficacy. Behav Res Ther. 2004; 42(10): 1129–1148 [serial online].
k2. Stanton A, Snider P. Coping with a breast cancer diagnosis: A prospective study. Health Psychol. 1993; 12(1): 16–23 [serial online].
k3. Segerstrom S, Taylor S, Kemeny M, Fahey J. Optimism is associated with mood, coping and immune change in response to stress. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1998; 74(6): 1646–1655 [serial online].
k4. Taylor SE, Kemeny ME, Aspinwall LG, Schneider SG, Rodriguez R, Herbert M. Optimism, coping, psychological distress, and high-risk sexual behavior among men at risk for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). J Pers Soc Psychol. 1992; 63: 460–473.
k5. Giltay EJ, Geleijnse JM, Zitman FG, Buijsse B, Kromhout D. Lifestyle and dietary correlates of dispositional optimism in men: The Zutphen Elderly Study. J Psychosom Res. 2007; 63: 483–490.
k6. Gratitude: Effects on Perspective and Blood Pressure (2007)
l1. Emotion and Social Context: An American—German Comparison
m1. Watkins, P.C., D.L. Grimm and R. Kolts: 2004, #Counting your blessings:
Positive memories among grateful persons#, Current Psychology: Developmental, Learning, Personality, Social 23, pp. 52–67.
m2. Watkins, P. C., Cruz, L., Holben, H., & Kolts, R. L. (2008). Taking Care of Business? Grateful Processing of Unpleasant Memories. Journal of Positive Psychology, 3, 87-99.
s1. Fredrickson, B. L., & Losada, M. F. (2005). Positive Affect and the Complex Dynamics of Human Flourishing. American Psychologist, 60(7), 678-686. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.60.7.678
t1. Stone, D. I., & Stone, E. F. (1983). The Effects of Feedback Favorability and Feedback Consistency. Academy Of Management Proceedings (00650668), 178-182. doi:10.5465/AMBPP.1983.4976341
t2. Jaworski, B. J., & Kohl, A. K. (1991). Supervisory Feedback: Alternative Types and Their Impact on Salespeople’s Performance and Satisfaction. Journal Of Marketing Research (JMR), 28(2), 190-201.
z1. What Neuroscience Reveals about the Nature of Business. Jeffrey L. Fannin, Ph.D. and Robert M. Williams, M.A.
Shirley was married to my Dad’s cousin Carl. My parents and Shirley and Carl were not really close when I was a kid. Both my parents are from very large families. They saw the majority of their brothers and sisters (combined total close to 20) and cousins (too many for me to count) quite often, but many other relatives were spoken of, but seldom seen. Shirley and Carl fell into that category.
In 1988 when my then husband, two boys and I moved to the sleepy town of Cape Coral, Florida my Dad kept encouraging me to call Carl and Shirley, who lived nearby. My Dad is the kind of fellow, who is always trying to connect family and friends, whether or not the folks involved are interested. (It is a trait I now realize we share!)
At the time, I did not want to call them, they were my parents’ age and I assumed we would have little in common, and since my Dad hadn’t kept in close touch, I thought they would perceive it as odd, or even worse – invasive to hear from a “long lost” relative. So, I ignored my Dad’s consistent, long-distance reminders until he phoned one day and told me he had called them and told them we lived in the same town. I felt I could no longer hide, and I soon found myself reluctantly dialing away.
A gravely voiced Shirley responded in a very off-putting manner upon hearing who I was and why I was calling. My heart sank, my cheeks reddened, and my blood began to boil as I faced the fact that I had once again sucked into one of my Dad’s “great” ideas. I don’t remember anything of our first conversation, other than Shirley’s cigarette-infused voice and very weak promises on both our parts to get together in the future. Duty done, I moved on. (I know I have mentioned Shirley’s voice twice, but it was quite memorable and truly a part o who she was.)
To this day, I do not know who made the next overture, but thankfully one of us did, and that gesture led to a warm, wonderful, and loving relationship with two of the finest, most caring, and interesting folks I have ever met. (Thank you, Dad.) When Shirley loved you, she did so fiercely; when Carl cared, you felt it in every vein of your body.
Over the next few years, we combined families, holidays, and celebrations of all sorts. We began a Christmas Eve tradition when we invited them to our home along with our dear friends Nellie and John, who had earlier and easily become honorary grandparents to our two boys and great mentors and dear friends to us. The two couples hit-it off immediately and became fast friends. Nellie and Shirley bonded in a way that survived the passing of husbands, distance and Alzheimer’s, and spent years enjoying good coffee, wine, confidences and conversation.
We also got to know Shirley and Carl’s great sons, (my cousins)-in-laws, and grandchildren and my parents reconnected when they visited us and later through calls and letters.
One of my favorite memories of Shirley is her absolute and steadfast belief in Santa Claus. This tough-talking, hard-hitting journalist never relinquished the particular delight her belief brought her. She demonstrated that belief to us by hiding our sons’ Christmas presents at their home for years – including bikes and twin water beds! Shirley would call around Thanksgiving to let me know they had the space and the desire to house whatever Santa might be bringing that year.
You always felt that being Shirley’s friend was an honor, a privilege of sorts. She did not seem to embrace many people – but cared deeply and stood by those she did, making each feel special and valued. She was never shy about voicing her opinions, which was great because her intelligence and insight were woven within, and she never tired of disagreeing with you about yours. The best thing about Shirley was you always knew who she was and what she stood for. If you liked her fine, if not, well fine, too, and could you please just move along.
One of Shirley’s pet peeves was people in her kitchen while she was entertaining, I learned to stay out! One of her favorite words was “lovely”, as in “Oh Pat, that is lovely.” She used it to describe ideas, beliefs, food, friends, and furniture. And again, you knew she meant it. She loved buttery Chardonnay, shrimp, and bagel chips.
In 2009, my dear friend Nellie and I visited Shirley in Columbus in the nursing home where she was spending her days after realizing the onset of Alzheimer’s was limiting her lifestyle options. The disease was slowly robbing her of her beloved memories, but not her spirit. Ten minutes after seeing Nellie, she was sneaking cigarettes, sipping wine, and telling us her thoughts and delighting in memories we shared that were hazy, but still present for her.
We were planning a return trip to see Shirley this summer, but oh, so sadly she died three weeks shy of our planned visit. She knew we were coming though, and although it was a small thing, that knowledge has always made me feel better.
So why am I telling you this now?
Because I love stories, and yesterday, my sweet and wonderful friend Marci sent me a photo of her Thanksgiving table in-progress and in the center was the tall hand-blown gold glass vase that Shirley had given to me years before when she was preparing to leave Florida, after Carl’s death, and move back to Ohio. I had passed on the vase to Marci, the color and size had been perfectly matched for Marci’s fireplace at the time.
And, now through a series of serendipitous events, the vase was the centerpiece of Marci’s Thanksgiving table in the town Shirley was born, raised her sons, and loved – Rocky River, Ohio. Marci and her family moved to Rocky River just over a year ago. When I saw the photo, I realized that, in a way, Shirley would once again be in the town she loved for one more Thanksgiving dinner.
I thought the blending of past and present and the friendships the photo represented was touching and well, perfectly lovely. I thought you might, too.
May your Thanksgiving be lovely, your tables be laden with goodies, your chairs be filled with family and friends and your heart be warmed with memories.
Happy Thanksgiving.
PS If you would like to read more about Shirley click here. Little odd to be posting her obit, I agree, but her story and life are worth sharing.
Breathing deeply and picturing the new you are the perfect holiday gift to give yourself. After all, ’tis the season for believing, why not start believing in yourself? 
