Can Being Grateful Make You Happier ?
The weekend starts here. BOOM!!, "Can Being Grateful Make You Happier ?" how's that for starters.
Or, thinking about it, did the weekend start yesterday ? Personal choice I guess. Me, I'm a Saturday and Sunday kind a guy, Friday's have never been anything more than another workday.
That said, in my youth Friday night was a good night then at some point it all stopped. Sigh. Nowadays, every day is pretty much the same and I'm alright with that, I enjoy the work I am doing and love the fact that I can do it everyday.
This, in a round about way, brings me to 'being grateful' and the only reason I wanted to mention it in this post is because I found an image that I wanted to share with you.
I could have just written a line and plonked the image down but that's no fun.
Once upon a time, I came across a blog post that got me thinking about 'being grateful'. It was Yvonne's ( @YvonneBray) post. If you're not a post reader then, in my humble opinion, you are missing out.
Gratitude - Universal Law not Murphy's law
I don't mean that you're missing out in a content creation kind of way, though there's much to be said for reading posts and then having ideas for your own writing, it's more to do with finding out stuff you didn't know or just getting the wheels inside your head turning.
Here's the thing (Warning: Controversial) not many of us are grateful and this is not because we're not very nice people, quite the contrary, I'm a lovely individual, it's more because we never think about it.
(I have two 'grateful stones' in my back pocket and I still forget about being grateful)
I will say at this point that I am aware that some of you practice being grateful on a daily basis as it's part of your routine. For those that do this, you have my admiration, you have realised the importance of being grateful and have taken steps to ensure that you remain that way.
For the rest of us, just reading this post will make you think about being grateful, it's a timely reminder but tomorrow will come and go and you'll have forgotten all about it.
Like I said, this doesn't make us bad people, we just need to find a way of reminding ourselves on a daily basis, so that we can take a few minutes to think about all of the things that we are grateful for.
Not only all of the above, there have also been studies that show that those who practice being grateful are actually happier. I quote from an article put out by Harvard Medical School.
"In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships."
So, is that enough words now ? I think so. After reading Yvonne's post I must have had 'gratitude' bubbling away in my sub-conscious because at some point I found myself reading an article which had the following image, courtesy of Basicknowledge101.com.
Hopefully, you'll be able to read the text contained within the image. If not, then I have copied the words from a transcript taken from the image, with an accreditation at the end.
"A group of students were asked to list what they thought were the present “Seven Wonders of the World.”
Though there were some disagreements, the following received the most votes:
1. Egypt’s Great Pyramids
2. Taj Mahal
3. Grand Canyon
4. Panama Canal
5. Empire State Building
6. St. Peter’s Basilica
7. China’s Great Wall
While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one student had not finished her paper yet. So she asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list.
The girl replied, “Yes, a little. I couldn’t quite make up my mind because there were so many.”
The teacher said, “Well, tell us what you have, and maybe we can help.” The girl hesitated, then read,
I think the ‘Seven Wonders of the World’ are:
1. To See
2. To Hear
3. To Touch/to feel
4. To Taste
5. To Smell
6. To Laugh
7. To Love.
The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. The things we overlook as simple and ordinary and that we take for granted are truly wondrous! A gentle reminder-that the most precious things in life cannot be built by hand or bought by man."
The story was originally told by Joy Garrison Wasson, an English teacher in Muncie, Indiana for over thirty years. She died on October 15, 2009, after a long illness.
Have a phenomenal weekend.
Twack Romero
Recent Comments
84
Brilliant blog Twack and thank you for mentioning my blog! I really appreciate it and I feel honoured.
I loved your story and I have gratitude for every 7 Wonders of the World. I am so thankful for the seven senses that I have.
I wish you success in everything you do.
Thank you so much, Yvonne and you're very welcome.
I really enjoyed your post and it stuck in my mind.
We are very lucky to have all that we have, we would do well to remember more often.
Let's face it, being grateful or expressing gratitude is a win win.
Very, very nice. A list to remember.
And, when I remember, I have a little "gratitude exercise" I do at night before going to sleep. I think back over my day and express my gratitude for the good things that happened in that day. I think it even helps me sleep better.
Thank you, Fran, I like your routine. I've read of a few members that do something similar just before sleep time. We have a lot to be grateful for.
Thank you Twack. I try to remind myself of just those things daily. I tell myself I'm among the richest in the world because I have the most important things in life.
The story was told of a man who was upset because he had no shoes then he saw a man with no feet. That changed his perspective.
We ought to always remember to be grateful. Even if you are only able to afford one meal per day there are people who would trade places with you in a second.
I'm grateful.
Candy Benn
Thank you for this wonderful comment Candy, you are so right, there are many out there who would jump to be in our shoes. We are 'well off' when compared to some.
I have come to be grateful for everything I have, but it hasn't always been like that. I used to take many things for granted until one by one things were taken away like both parents. I could list lots more but they were the most important and I didn't realise until it was too late. Be grateful.
I'm sorry Dave, that's sad to hear.
Said in the lyrics of a Cinderella track, "Don't Know What You Got Till It's Gone", but I think we are all guilty of that to some extent, as they say, hindsight is always twenty/twenty.
We can only make changes when we realise that things need to change.
Appreciate you stopping by and taking the time to comment, thank you.
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That's so true. I learned about gratitude several years ago and taught myself to really feel deep gratitude for everything I have and experienced. And it's only getting better.
However, I do not wake up every day expressing gratitude, I have days when I feel miserable, like most of us. Then I always remind myself of gratitude and focus on that.
Thanks for this beautiful post.
I had goosebumps reading what the student said. Beautiful.
Lenka
Thank you Lenka, for such a wonderful reply.
"Mama told me there'd be days like this" sums up those days you described.
I am the same in not waking up thinking about being grateful but I am making more of an effort and it does have a positive effect on my own mood.
I have been sat on the quote/image for two weeks just waiting for the right time to write about it.