Writing Gratitude letter

Term 2, 2013

Happiness is just a letter of gratitude away

0Steven Toepfer, an assistant professor at Kent State University, conducted a study to determine what would make people feel happier, especially in a consumer-oriented culture in which things are supposed to bring us joy.

Happiness is just a letter of gratitude away

0He had students write one letter every two weeks for a six-week period to people who had had a positive influence on their lives.

0The letters had to be positive, include some insight and reflection, and expressed great appreciation.

0After each letter was written, the students took a survey that gauged their mood, their satisfaction with life, and their feelings of gratitude and happiness.

Happiness is just a letter of gratitude away

0According to Toepfer, the students’ levels of happiness increased after each letter;

075% of them said they wanted to keep writing the letters, even when the study was finished.

Happiness is just a letter of gratitude away

0Toepfer added, "We are all walking around with an amazing resource: gratitude. It helps us express and enjoy, appreciate, be thankful and satisfied with a little effort. We all have it, and we need to use it to improve our quality of life.“

0 Reference: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2008/11/

happiness-is-ju.html

Eight Ways Gratitude Boosts Happiness

Reference: Eight Ways Gratitude Boosts Happiness From The How of Happiness by Sonja Lyubomirsky

Eight Ways Gratitude Boosts Happiness

0First, grateful thinking promotes the savouring of positive life experiences.

0By relishing and taking pleasure in some of the gifts of your life, you will be able to extract the maximum possible satisfaction and enjoyment from your current circumstances.

Eight Ways Gratitude Boosts Happiness

0Second, expressing gratitude bolsters self-worth and self-esteem.

0When you realize how much people have done for you or how much you have accomplished, you feel more confident and efficacious.

0The practice of gratitude encourages you instead to consider what you value about your current life or how you are thankful that things aren’t worse.

Eight Ways Gratitude Boosts Happiness

0Third, gratitude helps people cope with stress and trauma.

0Indeed, traumatic memories are less likely to surface in those who are regularly grateful. Interestingly, people instinctively express gratitude when confronted with adversity.

Eight Ways Gratitude Boosts Happiness

0Fourth, the expression of gratitude encourages moral behaviour.

0Grateful people are more likely to help others (e.g., you become aware of kind and caring acts and feel compelled to reciprocate) and less likely to be materialistic.

Eight Ways Gratitude Boosts Happiness

0Fifth, gratitude can help build social bonds, strengthening existing relationships and nurturing new ones.

0Keeping a gratitude journal, for example, can produce feelings of greater connectedness with others.

Eight Ways Gratitude Boosts Happiness

0Sixth, expressing gratitude tends to inhibit undesirable comparisons with others.

0If you are genuinely thankful and appreciative for what you have (e.g., family, health, home), you are less likely to pay close attention to or envy what the Joneses have.

Eight Ways Gratitude Boosts Happiness

0 Seventh, the practice of gratitude is incompatible with negative emotions and may actually diminish or deter such feelings as anger, bitterness, and greed.

Eight Ways Gratitude Boosts Happiness

Last but not least, gratitude helps us put a stop to hedonic adaptation. Hedonic adaptation is illustrated by our remarkable capacity to adjust to any new circumstance or event. For example, when we gain something good in our life, such as a well-paid job or a comfortable lifestyle - there is an immediate boost in happiness and contentment. Unfortunately, we soon adapt to this lifestyle and the boost of happiness is usually short-lived.

Write a gratitude letter today

0Write a gratitude letter and post it to the recipient by this weekend.

0The letter has to be specific, expressing how you are doing now and how the recipient has changed you.

0Evaluate your level of happiness after posting the letter.

THE END