We hear a lot about the importance of practicing gratitude, especially around this time of year. If you’re celebrating Thanksgiving, you’ll probably go around the table and say thank you before you eat your mashed potatoes. Beyond Thanksgiving, you may have heard the advice that you should write a gratitude list, keep a gratitude journal, or write a heartfelt letter of gratitude to the important people in your life. yeah. All of these activities sound like great ideas in theory, but as a busy parent, you’ve probably wondered if these practices are really worth the effort.
A recent study addressed this very question.
Research details
The researchers found that expressions of gratitude involve others (e.g., in writing thank you letters and gratitude lists), and in short and long forms (e.g., as a list rather than a letter or essay). . The study included 958 Australian adults who were randomly assigned to one of six conditions (see also figure below).
Gratitude Letter (Social, Long Form): Write a Thank You Letter to Tell Someone Why You Are Thankful Gratitude Essay (Non-Social, Long Form): (Excluding People) Thank You Write an Essay About Social Gratitude List (Social, Long Form)Short Form): Write a Gratitude List of People to whom you are grateful. Non-social gratitude list (non-social, long form): write a list of things you are grateful for (excluding people) general gratitude list: list of things and people you are grateful for Thanks to the control condition: simply write about daily activities.
Participants were asked to perform one of these exercises every day for a week. The researchers then investigated the extent to which each of these exercises increased gratitude, improved mood, made participants feel indebted and connected to someone, and produced feelings of life satisfaction and elation (translation: elation). We investigated whether it increases the sense of Important note: Because participants were randomly assigned, we know that gratitude training actually caused these psychological benefits.
Main findings
Key takeaways from the study include:
Any gratitude practice is better than none at all. Completing these gratitude practices increased my feelings of gratitude, indebtedness, connection, and elation (translation: elation) compared to simply writing down my daily activities. Writing a long note of gratitude may help you feel better. The longer writing condition (letter or essay) resulted in more gratitude, elation, indebtedness, positive mood, and life satisfaction than the shorter form of gratitude practice (i.e., gratitude list). Writing a thank you letter may have the greatest benefit. Participants who wrote letters of gratitude showed more positive affect than any other condition. Participants who wrote letters of gratitude reported higher levels of elation, positive mood, gratitude, and life satisfaction than those who wrote gratitude lists of people they were grateful for. They showed higher feelings of elation, gratitude, and better mood when compared to those who wrote gratitude lists of things and people they were grateful for, compared to those who wrote gratitude lists of both things and people. showed higher levels of elation when compared to those who wrote gratitude essays about ~. That they are grateful. However, writing a thank you letter increased feelings of indebtedness far more than any other condition. A gratitude list may not be enough. In fact, researchers found that there was no difference between writing a gratitude list and writing about your daily activities. Previous research has found evidence for the benefits of gratitude lists, so more research is needed to determine whether gratitude lists are worth the effort. One week may not be enough to see the results of this intervention. Expressing gratitude to others makes you feel more indebted to them (like you owe them something). In this study, people who participated in social gratitude training showed more debt than those who participated in non-social training. You need to be consistent to see a positive impact. The researchers asked participants to perform these exercises every day for one week, then didn’t ask them to do any of them the following week. The researchers found that after a week of not practicing gratitude, the benefits were almost negligible, suggesting that you need to continue practicing gratitude regularly to see the benefits. I am.
whole translation
We all know that gratitude is important, but how can we actually increase our gratitude and benefit from gratitude practices? It’s nice to practice some gratitude. Sounds good, but your time is limited and you want to know what’s going to be in your best interest. This study found that writing a thank you letter is the most effective way to express your gratitude. A thank you letter is more than just a letter thanking someone for a gift, it’s a more open-ended opportunity to say why you appreciate them as a person. You don’t have to send a letter to the person in question (most studies don’t ask participants to send a letter); you can also write a letter to a deceased loved one, God, or a higher power. . If you don’t have time to write a letter, try sending someone a text message or verbally expressing your gratitude. You and your partner will both feel better!
