We’re less than a month from Thanksgiving and my family and I have begun making plans to visit my sister and her family in the Chicago area. I love Thanksgiving: the food, the good times spent with family, the onset of the Christmas season, having a couple days off to just hang out and reflect. I want to be a more grateful person. If you’re like me, you have a tendency to take things for granted. I don’t want to live like that. I don’t want my kids to be like that—I’d like to see us get “unstuck” in this area (if you know what I mean).
If you’d like to get unstuck in this area, too, here’s something that might be of interest to you:
Psychologists Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough asked people to spend a few moments each week carrying out one of three writing tasks. One group listed five things they were grateful for, the second group listed five things that annoyed them, and the third group wrote down five events that had taken place during the previous week.
The ‘gratitude’ group wrote down anything from seeing the sunset on a summer day to the generosity of their friends. The ‘annoyed’ group listed things like taxes and their children arguing. And the ‘events’ group wrote about making breakfast and driving to work.
The results were amazing. Compared to those in the ‘annoyed’ or ‘events’ groups, those ones who expressed gratitude ended up significantly happier, much more optimistic about the future, physically healthier, and they even exercised more.
Wanna be healthier and happier? Spend some time each week thanking God for the blessings he’s given you. It’ll change your life.
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