Gratitude Attitude

It’s the morning before Thanksgiving and I’ve been up for awhile because I have a lot do: more food to get, more cleaning to finish and more cooking to start. I’ll be running around for most of the day, like people all over the country.

Fortunately, I’ve got a good start on the number one thing on my “to do” list.

Giving thanks.

My thanksgiving began in earnest last night as each of my children made it home safely from their respective colleges. One came by air and one came by car. When my son came through the door, the three of us remained in a group hug that lasted for about a full minute. We basked in the appreciation of the moment.

Now, I’m sure you’ve probably heard or read about this before, but there are numerous academic and medical studies that show the multiple benefits of the practice of gratitude. Robert A. Emmons, PhD, a professor of psychology at University of California, Davis, is a pioneer in the research on gratitude and one of the leading scholars in positive psychology. His book Thanks: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier, presents the results of studies in which randomly selected participants made weekly and daily lists of the things in their lives that created feelings of gratitude or times when they experienced gratitude. When compared with those groups which focused on the things that bugged them, or the group that made no lists at all, the researchers recorded these advantages in the Gratitude Group:

• Fewer health complaints
• Fewer symptoms of physical illness
• Better sleep patterns
• Better relations with other people
• Greater empathy
• Greater satisfaction with life as a whole

Research by Phillip Watkins, a clinical psychologist at Eastern Washington University, found that a grateful attitude may provide useful coping skills for dealing with losses and other stressful events.

I’m particularly focused on Watkins’ research today, because this has been a tough, tough year for so many people. The economic upheaval has touched everyone I know, personally and professionally. The universal constant is uncertainty.

I certainly claim no immunity. This year has brought unexpected losses of loved ones, health challenges and financial reversals that demand a continual review and reevaluation of assumptions, values and priorities. If I wasn’t clear before about what matters, I’ve had to figure it out, again and again.

Yet, as Emmons’ and Watkins’ studies show, it’s during times like these that gratitude matters most. The practice of gratitude teaches that we have the resilience and resources to handle the tough times, and can generate the confidence that we’ll be able to handle whatever lies ahead.

Consider: in the midst of international recession and global uncertainty, the people of the United States have made a historic choice which speaks to the promise of our democracy and our collective sense of resilience. No one knows what’s going to happen next, but polls show the majority of Americans are choosing to be hopeful about our future.

I’d call that a gratitude practice.

I’ve got to get to the rest of my “to do” list.

Happy thanks giving -- today, tomorrow and every day.