"When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned
1. GRATITUDE IS GOOD FOR YOU "When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around." – Willie Nelson Why is an "attitude of gratitude" so important? There are actually a great many reasons, but in this chapter we will consider some of the physical ones that can directly affect our lives.
At the most basic level, gratitude is good for us. Psychologists, medical doctors, and other researchers have found evidence strongly suggesting that individuals who exhibit gratitude in their lives tend to be happier, to enjoy better health, and to live longer than those who do not. These are obviously all good reasons to make gratitude a part of our lives, so consider the evidence we have.
The Physical Benefits of Gratitude It seems to be clear that individuals who experience and exhibit gratitude in their lives enjoy many significant physical health benefits. A number of studies have shown that a person's level of gratitude can predict sleep quality and duration – the more we are thankful, the better we sleep (where there are no other underlying issues affecting our sleep patterns). For example, according to a 2011 study published in Applied Psychology: Health and WellBeing, individuals who spent a few minutes before going to bed writing down things they were grateful for that day slept better and longer. For most of us, better sleep affects almost all aspects of our physical lives.
Perhaps partly as a result of its effect on sleep and rest, gratitude has been shown to improve performance and productivity for many people. One study found that high school students who exhibited thankfulness had higher grades, better social integration, and more satisfaction with life than less grateful students. A 2014 study published in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology established
that gratitude increased the self-esteem of athletes and was thus linked to optimal performance. Gratitude can also help us in the workplace. Numerous studies have shown that employees who are grateful for their jobs often feel motivated to work harder and produce more than people who do not feel such gratitude. As a result, grateful workers often succeed in their careers more than if they had not been thankful!
Gratitude certainly can have a positive effect on overall physical health. According to a 2012 study published in Personality and Individual Differences, thankful people experience fewer aches and pains and report feeling healthier than other people. Perhaps as a result of this fact, grateful people often exercise more frequently and are more likely to attend regular medical check-ups – both factors which contribute to living longer. As one writer put it, if gratitude were a pill, doctors would prescribe it!
At least one study has shown that thankful people are likely to interact with others in a more positive manner – even when others do not behave kindly toward them. A 2012 study conducted at the University of Kentucky found that study participants who scored higher on a scale of gratitude exhibited more sensitivity and empathy toward other people and were less likely to retaliate when they felt wronged by them.
These benefits clearly affect our relationships with others in major ways. One research study showed that individuals who took the time to express thankfulness for their partner felt more positive toward them and happier in their relationship. Thankful individuals were also found to be more comfortable than less thankful people about discussing problems in their relationships, and gratitude was found to be one of the most important factors contributing to long-term marriage stability and happiness.
Psychological Benefits of Gratitude While some of the physical benefits of thankfulness that we have looked at also affect our psychological health, there are many other
advantages of gratitude that positively affect our mental state and well-being.
Research done over many years has shown that gratitude not only reduces stress but also enhances mental resilience and our ability to recover from trauma. Among the more interesting findings of studies in this area, a 2006 study published in the journal Behavior Research and Therapy found that combat veterans with higher levels of thankfulness experienced lower rates of post-traumatic stress disorder. In a 2003 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, gratitude was also found to be a major contributing factor to psychological resilience for those who suffered personally or lost loved ones in the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
At a more everyday level, gratitude helps us in dealing with the ongoing small problems that arise in life and can significantly reduce feelings of anxiety. Importantly, gratitude has been found to reduce many negative emotions – ranging from envy and unhealthy competition to feelings of frustration and depression. In short, gratitude often brings us peace of mind.
Gratitude even has a bearing on our sense of morality and ultimately on the kind of person we become. As author and broadcaster Dennis Prager has written:
In many ways, gratitude is the most important of all the good character traits. It is the most indispensable trait to both happiness and goodness. One can neither be a happy person nor a good person without gratitude. The less gratitude one has, the more one sees oneself as a victim; and nothing is more likely to produce a bad person or a bad group than defining oneself or one's group as a victim. Victims, having been hurt, too often believe they have a license to hurt others. As for happiness, if you think of all the people you know, you will not be able to name one who is ungrateful and happy. The two are mutually exclusive. (From The Rational Bible by Dennis Prager, Washington, DC, 2018).
Happiness is indeed a major by-product of gratitude. There is a lot of truth in the old saying that "Happy people are not always grateful, but grateful people are almost always happy!" If this seems exaggerated, we should realize that this is a fact confirmed by research. A small article titled Giving thanks can make you happier, published on the Harvard Medical School website, stresses that in extensive psychology research gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness.
Of course, if true thankfulness is already a part of our lives, we do not need any of the physical or psychological "perks" or benefits that gratitude brings in order to motivate us to be grateful. But knowing these facts can help us to be thankful for the God-given capacity of gratitude itself. It is also faith-strengthening to know that there are positive physical reasons for following the way of life to which God has called us – and God does call us to a life of gratitude, as we will see in the next chapter.