Gratitude prepares the soil of HOPE in our lives.

Philosophers, like Epictetus, spoke about the importance of gratitude, saying, "He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has."

Economist Adam Smith believed gratitude to be essential for a healthy and functioning civil society.

Gratitude has been studied as a trait that God created in people, one deeply rooted in nature.

·         Research on primates suggests that chimpanzees exhibit gratitude towards humans and other chimpanzees for favors or gifts received.

·         Fish, birds, and bats exhibit traits of gratitude by helping one another for the potential support to be returned later.

·         Identical twins showed a stronger correlation to gratitude than fraternal twins, suggesting some genetic component to thankfulness.

Scientists generally define gratitude as an emotional acknowledgement that you have received something from others. Thankfulness is a state of awareness. You take notice of the people, places and things that are positive in your life. And this positive emotion builds other positive emotions and positive reasoning while also broadening our perspective about the world.  

One of the best aspects of gratitude is that it can be built by intentional choice.

While researchers have found some links between gratitude and genetics, most of our disposition toward gratitude is determined by factors we have control over. Fortunately, being thankful does not depend on the car we drive, the job we have, nor the shape of our body. Gratitude is a practiced outlook on life. We consciously choose to see the good rather than the bad.

Grateful people are more likely to notice what's going right in life rather than focus on what they lack. Grateful individuals are likely to endorse statements like these from “Gratitude Works!: A 21-day Program for Creating Emotional Prosperity” by Robert Emmons, Ph.D.. 

How many of these resonate with you?

☐ It is important to appreciate each day that you are alive

☐ For me, life is much more of a gift than it is a burden.

☐ I am basically very thankful for the parenting that was provided to me.

☐ I could not have gotten where I am today without the help of many people

☐ It seems that I can even find reasons to feel thankful for bad things that happen

☐ If I had to list everything, I felt grateful for, it would be a very long list

☐ I find it easy to express gratitude to those who have helped me

  Robert Emmons uses an assessment like the one above to see if you are a person that focuses on what they have or what they lack.   I also use assessment in health coaching, clients can see themselves in a different light and have their eyes opened using assessment like the above.   Our eyes don’t always match our thoughts.  Assessments give us insight into ourselves when we are honest!

 Each post this month will focus on how to cultivate HOPE with gratitude!  If you’d like to join my July 2023 Challenge on Cultivating HOPE, go to my events and sign up today! We start today, July 10th, 2023.