Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life, by Emmons, Robert A. and McCullough, Michael E. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol 84(2), Feb 2003, 377-389.
In this study, one participant group recorded a diary of daily events, another group wrote down unpleasant experiences, and the third group wrote down a daily record listing things for which they were grateful. The gratitude group was more likely to help others, exercise, and complete personal goals, while reporting more determination, optimism, alertness, energy, and enthusiasm. It is interesting to note that this study also found people who take time to deliberately record their gratitude were more likely to feel loved, and found more kindness reciprocated to them as they sent out an increase of kindness from their attitude. Also, grateful people were grateful regardless of whether special events happened in their day or not. In other words, they did not just have moments of gratefulness, but grateful attitudes.
In short, acts of gratitude improve your overall well-being. That?s reason enough for me to start being more thankful for what I have.
Sound interesting? Check out the book, Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier by Robert Emmons.
(With thanks to Glen at LifeDev.net and Adria at ButYou’reAGirl.com).



A National Day of Listening
To help you in this project, the National Day of Listening site offers a 2-page Do-It-Yourself Guide (PDF) that leads you through the steps of preparing for and recording an interview with a friend or family member (my favorite tip: “Be curious and honest, and keep an open heart”), and an online question generator.
And when you have listened to and recorded each others’ stories, visit the StoryCorps Listening Page to hear from the father who learned to read when his kids were grown or Julio Diaz, the Desert Father of the Bronx, or to explore other tales of friendship, wisdom, struggle, discovery, and more. You can also check out their new book, Listening Is an Act of Love.
StoryCorps aims to have participants stage an event and end up with a product, a recorded interview that can be passed down the generations or published to the world. The product is wonderful, but is is the practice of conversation, rather than any single event, that is truly powerful and valuable. That’s the lesson I learned with Nicole at Marriage Encounter, a ministry that builds up marriages not by telling you how your relationship should look, but by prying open the gates of conversation.
Here’s how it works:
That’s all. Only connect. Don’t let the mundane stand in the way. Make the time. Find other couples to encourage and support you in this practice. It’s simple, but it can mean the world.