AMiable Solution #169: More Than a Feeling

Showing your appreciation for co-workers, clients, members, donors, partners, etc., improves your relationship with those individuals, but the benefits don’t stop there.  Incorporating a regular ritual of gratitude in your life benefits your life, too.

UMass Dartmouth’s Counseling Center, in its online article, “The Importance of Gratitude,” reports that people who practice gratitude are more likely to experience better physical and mental health than people who think negatively.  In fact, the article says that people who keep gratitude journals on a weekly basis tend to exercise more regularly, exhibit fewer physical symptoms, and feel better about their lives in general. 

Furthermore, the article claims, people who talk about the things they’re grateful for on a daily basis are more alert, more enthusiastic, more determined, and more attentive than those who don’t.  They’re also more energetic and sleep not only longer and but also better.

What do you have to do to get the goods for feeling good?  You could follow the advice of Robert A. Emmons, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, and the founding editor-in-chief of The Journal of Positive Psychology.  Emmons recommends keeping a “gratitude journal.”  Doing so forces you to focus on the positive by identifying and listing the things going on in your life that you’re thankful for.

But you don’t have to physically write anything down to reap the benefits of grateful thinking.  Even just taking a few minutes a day to mentally acknowledge the good things in your day can create a change in attitude and a change in outlook.

With that in mind, we’d like to put you at the top of our gratitude list.  Thank you for your partnership, your business, and your friendship.  We are a better organization because of you.  Happy holidays, and happy new year.