What makes gratitude so powerful?

Gratitude is an emotion we use to express appreciation and thankfulness and joy in response to receiving a gift. It’s much more, however.

A powerful agent, gratitude can propel us with unstoppable momentum to find ways to express, exclaim and proclaim it to the world, or another person, perhaps shouting from the rooftops!

Words may not suffice to express gratitude, but this cannot stop us from trying.

According to researcher and professor of psychology Dr. Todd Kashdan at George Mason University, it is one of three critical ingredients for living a happy life. The other two ingredients are: meaningful relationships and living in the present, Kashdan reports in an article, Key to Happiness, published in the journal Psychology and Sociology.

Gratitude may be the main ingredient, however. Other studies find gratitude adds meaning to our relationships and there are surprising connections to our general wellbeing as well. Even romantic relationships get a significant boost when partners practice small acts of every day gratitude; it appears to increase chances of sustaining partner’s personal level of happiness and romantic connection with one another.

Simply put, gratitude makes us healthier.

In the words of Cicero, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.”

Wow.

Gratitude is simply the fastest, easiest, most powerful way for you to create healthy feel-good feelings in and around yourself and others at any time or moment, and if that’s not pure power to create and sustain happiness, what is?

What’s more … if you share your thoughts and feelings out loud, write them down, paint them, express them to others, and so on, potentially, your feelings of gratitude can transform into multidimensional power-blasts of nourishing feelings that can deepen your sense of meaning, purpose and connection to life in and around you.

Again, wow.

We take so many of our blessings of health, love, kindness of others or our own — and Life — for granted.

Why not take a stand, stating emphatically, “No more, not I!”

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to declare today and each day of this New Year, and years to come,

“I am grateful for the countless blessings in my life today. Regardless the circumstances around me, I always look for what I am grateful for.

I am thankful for my life and the special persons in my life, sending heartfelt wishes and blessings, I acknowledge them as amazing and magnificent beings, and am ever grateful for their presence and unique contributions.

I am grateful for the way Life teaches, supports and grows me to realize my potential and, at the same time, to appreciate the potential of others’ and the unique ways they express their love in this vast wondrous Universe.

I’m grateful for the way in which the uniqueness of others around me challenges and stretches my capacity for compassion and wisdom, acceptance and understanding.

The statements above may not change life instantly, but they can instantly change how you feel, and in turn what actions you take, and together, your feelings, thoughts and actions have the power to transform and optimally change the direction of your life and happiness.

If still not persuaded, consider the work of Dr. Robert Emmons, one of the leaders in the field of research on gratitude.

The benefits of gratitude are many, Dr. Emmons notes in his book, Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier.

In his words, “Life is a Gift–Thanks!”

Do you have any habits of judging your life, self and others as not warranting appreciation  – that keep you stuck “waiting” until you, others or “things” are just-so before you feel free to live in appreciation?

How about shifting away from old worn habits and, instead, toward becoming more and more aware of even the tiniest inconsequential things you experience each day, that you may appreciate?

Either way, how about renewing your commitment today to be grateful for even the smallest of blessings in your life? Your eyes, your ears, your legs, your hands, your breath…?

In Part 2, more on gratitude and making it a practice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Relationship consultant, author, licensed marriage and family therapist, Dr. Athena Staik shows clients how to break free of anxiety, addictions, and other emotional blocks, to awaken radiantly healthy lives and relationships. Dr. Staik is currently in private practice in Northern VA, and writing her book, Safe Enough to Love™: Breaking Free of Addictive Love in Couple Relationships. To contact Dr. Staik for information, an appointment or workshop, visit www.drstaik.com, or visit on her Facebook fan page DrAthenaStaik

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    Last reviewed: 27 Dec 2013