Thanksgiving Every Day

With Thanksgiving approaching, my thoughts turn toward the topic of gratitude. Those of us who study the laws of the Universe understand the importance of gratitude. We hear and read about it all the time. It's a fundamental that relates directly to the Law of Attraction - the more we focus on the good in our lives, the more good comes into our lives, the better we feel, the happier we are.

As children we learn to say "thank you" or send thank you notes. Some of us were told as children "be grateful for what you have." But those words were usually said in frustration or anger as a means of dismissing a whining request for more "stuff". Then we have one whole day set aside for gratitude - Thanksgiving. But that's about it. Gratitude has never finished high on the list of emotions we are taught to cultivate.

Imagine my delight when I read an article about actual scientific research being done by well respected scientists on the subject! There is a new wave of research being done in Positive Psychology, an emerging trend in the field of psychology moving away from psychological studies on pathology and mental illness and toward trying to understand what makes for mental well-being. Yay!!!

Psychology has generally ignored the positive emotions," says Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis, a psychologist and leading figure in the new field of gratitude research. "We tend to study the things that can go wrong in people's minds but not the things that can go right. Gratitude research is beginning to suggest that feelings of thankfulness have tremendous positive value in helping people cope with daily problems, especially stress, and to achieve a positive sense of the self." Ha! Science is catching up with us!!

It's important to recognize that grateful people are not ones who take a Pollyannaish view of the world. In studies, people who score highly on various indicators of gratefulness also report strong awareness of the bad in their own lives and in society. In fact, some research finds that grateful people may be slightly more likely to be cynical than the population as a whole. But they achieve the ability to be wary of life's problems and yet thankful for the ways in which the actions of others lighten their burdens.

Consider that recent academic studies have shown:

• People who describe themselves as feeling grateful to others and either to God or to creation in general tend to have higher vitality and more optimism, suffer less stress, and experience fewer episodes of clinical depression than the population as a whole. These results hold even when researchers factor out such things as age, health, and income, equalizing for the fact that the young, the well-to-do, or the hale and hearty might have "more to be grateful for."
• Grateful people tend to be less materialistic than the population as a whole and to suffer less anxiety about status or the accumulation of possessions. Partly because of this, they are more likely to describe themselves as happy or satisfied in life.
• In an experiment with college students, those who kept a "gratitude journal," a weekly record of things they should feel grateful for, achieved better physical health, were more optimistic, exercised more regularly, and described themselves as happier than a control group of students who kept no journals but had the same overall measures of health, optimism, and exercise when the experiment began. (Researchers use frequency of exercise as a barometer for general well-being because it is an objective measure that links to subjective qualities; people who exercise three or more times per week tend to have better indicators of well-being, even when health conditions that affect the ability to exercise are factored out.)

Feeling grateful is not to say that everything in our lives is necessarily great. It just means we are aware of our blessings. If we only think about our disappointments and unsatisfied wants, we bring ourselves down and invite more disappointments and unsatisfied longings which result in difficulties in all aspects of life. But if we're fully aware of our disappointments but at the same time thankful for the good that has happened and for our opportunity to live and contribute to the well-being of the world, it is reflect in all areas of our lives. Adopting an "attitude of gratitude" benefits us all around, from our emotional well-being, to healthier relationships, to better physical health, greater happiness and greater success in all we do.

So instead of celebrating Thanksgiving only on the 4th Thursday of November, I say adopt an attitude of gratitude every day. Awake in the morning acknowledging your opportunity to make a difference, no matter now big or small. Smile more, say "thank you" more, and look at your world through eyes that show you just how much you really do have.

Mainstream science is now beginning to validate how important gratitude is in the mental, emotional and physical well being of individuals. The focus of an area of research that has historically analyzed illness is now, in small steps, beginning to shift its perspective. The term "positive psychology" has even seeped into University study! At a recent party with University psychology professors (my husband is one) the topic came up. Even the most rigid professor there grudgingly had to admit that the research being done in this area might have merit. I just about danced home that night because to me this is another sign that "the shift" is in progress!!!!