In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich. Dietrich Bonhoeffer
— Unknown
About this Activity
The Gratitude Activity is focused on repeated self-reflection on that which you are grateful. You'll select three days of the week where you'll commit to taking time out of your day to sit and identify three things for which you are grateful and then writing about them.
Gratitude (or being thankful or grateful) is a state or feeling in which we are fully appreciative of that which we have. We may be grateful for our health, our friends and family, and many other things. Simple exercises have been developed to help us increase our gratitude. These exercises consist in taking time to reflect upon some number of things in life for which you are grateful and writing these down. Research has found these sorts of exercises tend to increase not only happiness and life satisfaction, but also to lower depressive symptoms and improve the quality of sleep.
The Practice
Getting Started
The first thing that we recommend is to select the one day of the week on which you want to do this activity. It's best to write down the days or add them to your calendar. This exercise involves reflecting on and writing down your thoughts. It's best to have a notebook or word document dedicated to this activity.
Instructions
This exercise takes six weeks. During this time you'll work on improving your gratitude by simply setting aside some time three times a week (on different days) to do a simple exercise that consists of reflecting on that which you are grateful and then writing about it. You can create an account or sign in if you want to use this app to do this exercise and keep track of your progress. Otherwise, you can just use the information below on your own.
First Entry
Please take a few moments to clear your mind. There are many things in our lives, both large and small, that we might be grateful about. Think back over the past week. Please take a few moments to think about three such things for which you are grateful. When you are ready, please write about them in a notebook.
Weekly Practice
You've committed to working on improving your expression of gratitude in this activity. As part of your commitment you've scheduled today to return to this app and do a focus writing exercise on gratitude. Please take a few moments to clear your mind. When you are ready, please continue to the next paragraph. There are many things in our lives, both large and small, that we might be grateful about. Think back over the past week. Please take a few moments to think about three such things for which you are grateful. When you are ready, please write about them below.
The Science
This exercise is grounded in research on cognitive well-being. Regular practice has been shown to increase positive emotion, enhance resilience, and deepen your sense of connection.
Key References
- Improvements in: Happiness, Depression, Sleep Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: an experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84,377-389.
- Davis, D. E. Choe, E., Meyers, J., Wade, N., Varjas, K., Gifford, A., Quinn, A.,Hook, J. N., Van Tongeren, D.R., Griffin, B. J., & Worthington, E. L. (2016). Thankful for the little things: a meta- analysis of gratitude interventions. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 63,20-31.
- Wood, A. M., Froh, J. J., & Geraghty, A. W. A. (2010). Gratitude and well-being: a review and theoretical integration. Clinical Psychology Review, 30,890-905.