Kevin Brown
Sadiqua Hamdan
Annette Presley
Debbie Wysocki
Paul Ericson
Maureen Diaz
Janet Demeter
Liz Reitzig
Julie Burns
Jenny Westerkamp, RD
Lauren Snyder Grosz
Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCN
let'spoon
Morley Robbins
Janet Stuck, ND, CNC, MH, CNHP
John Chisholm
Dr. Richard Walicki
Jimmy Moore
Be Ye Thankful Always!
Gratitude has been referred to as the “forgotten factor” in the area of happiness research. Robert A. Emmons of The University of California, Davis and Michael E. McCullough of The University of Miami have chosen to focus on this aspect of happiness in particular and their work has yielded some interesting finds. For instance, people who kept gratitude journals reported fewer physical complaints, felt better overall about things, and were more optimistic about the future than those who recorded obstacles or even neutral events.
It seems that gratitude flourishes when purposely cultivated. People who rate themselves high on a gratitude scale place less importance on material goods; they judge their success and the success of others on criteria that is personally meaningful. This is not to say that material gain and gratitude don’t go hand in hand, but to point out that gratitude can be a powerful collaborator in accomplishing one’s goals, whatever they may be. A useful way to think about this is to ask the following question, “Have you ever known a happy person who wasn’t grateful, or a grateful person who wasn’t happy?” Happiness is a result of gratitude and while it is not always possible to just be happy, choosing to be grateful is always an option.
Margaret Paul, Ph.D. and the founder of Inner Bonding Educational Technologies, Inc. draws attention to the fruitlessness of complaining. The more you complain, the more unhappy you will feel. Consider that it isn’t a person, situation, or the past that causes unhappiness. Rather it is choosing to complain about it instead of discovering its wonderful side and being grateful for it. Fundamentally, complaining is a form of control. The mind believes that by complaining loud and long enough, it is able to have control over getting the thing that is wanted.
It is profound to think that contentment and a bevy of other benefits are attainable by circumventing initial reactions that have more to do with self indulgence than evolving the self. Taking time to express heartfelt gratitude and resisting the temptation to complain is an investment that will continuously bear fruit, as long as it’s cultivated.
Lauren Snyder Grosz is a Certified Nutrition and Wellness Educator. As a student on a lifelong quest for exceptional health and happiness, her mission is to empower people to take complete responsibility for their own health by rethinking everything we’ve assumed to be true and rediscovering what truly works based on accurate science.
