The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see
- Mary David
Ah, Gratitude. How this one concept has completely changed my life is beyond my cognition. I have actively been practising gratitude for 8 months, and its effect on my mental health and the general level of my happiness is profound.
The word gratitude comes from the latin word "gratus", which roughly translates to thankful or pleasing. A person could be thankful for a kind gesture from a stranger. A person could be grateful for something that makes their life easier. Gratitude can be expressed towards virtually anything, and the effects of practising gratitude are highly positive and rewarding. The concept of gratitude also appears multiple times in holy scriptures such as the Bible, which particularly emphasizes the importance of gratitude as the root of spiritual growth, and rightly so.
Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus
- The Holy Bible
Yes, we are instructed by parents to say thanks every time someone helps us. The holy scriptures describe the importance of being thankful. But are these just blanket statements, or does gratitude actually have some merit?
An unassailable way to answer this question is research! Gratitude has been researched extensively over the past decade, and the results are irrefutable.
Gratitude emerges as a prominent pillar of positive psychology and mental health. One particular study compared multiple methods of expressing gratitude. The testing was done in phases spanning over 6 months. A practice called the gratitude visit, where the person was to write and deliver in person a heartfelt letter expressing gratitude towards someone kind or helpful to them, showed the most significant increase in the happiness index in the whole study. The subjects were also asked to write down a so-called gratitude journal, where they had to reflect on three good things that happened that day and the reasons for it for one week. The happiness index rose significantly and steadily over 6 months (source included).
Additionally, gratitude seems to have a positive effect on sleep, with subjects showing a higher sleep quality, sleep duration, less daytime dysfunction and lower sleep latency in comparison to the control group, so if you are looking to optimize your sleep to the fullest, practising gratitude could be the missing ingredient! (source included)
Gratitude also seems to impact cardiovascular outcomes positively, especially on biomarkers of cardiovascular disease risk such as asymptomatic heart failure, cardiovascular function, and autonomic nervous system activity (source included).
Gratitude appears to play a vital role in the well-being of romantic relationships. Studies show that having high levels of gratitude for partners fosters commitment, satisfaction, and stability and enhances the feeling of being closer to each other (source included).
Expressing gratitude to partners also alleviates the discomfort faced in voicing concerns in the relationship, thereby strengthening the relationship in the long term. Gordon et al. (2012) found that being appreciated by a partner led to individuals reciprocating appreciation and enhanced responsiveness for their partner. Expressing gratitude towards a spouse also lowered the proneness to divorce and led to higher marital satisfaction (source included).
Gratitude expressions increase prosocial behaviour by enabling individuals to feel socially valued. This holds especially true in the workplace, where gratitude on the part of the manager has been shown to improve the performance of the employees drastically (source included).
TL: DR;Gratitude has an immense effect on the following aspects of physical and mental health:
I started off simply with a gratitude journal. At the start, I was inconsistent and missed multiple days without filling up something in my journal. Life got in the way, and I caved. However, earlier this year (around 8 months ago, to be more specific), I turned my life around completely and have not looked back since.
At the point of writing this, I have barely missed around 6-7 days of gratitude journaling. It has become a strong habit, to the point that I feel weird if I do not express gratitude right after brushing my teeth and downing some omega-3 capsules.
First, it was 3 lines of gratitude - it could be towards anything. For example, I would express gratitude for the table I sat on to study or the bag I put my books in. Slowly, I progressed from inanimate things to expressing gratitude towards people - my friends, my family, and my partners. Every small gesture or sweet thing they did for me, I would savour it and express gratitude. If my partner nursed me back to health, I thought about the moment in detail and appreciated them by being lavish in my praise for their effort. If my parents encouraged me to do something I had not tried before, or if I had a fun time with my friends, I made it a point to remember the event in detail and express it in words. I specifically bought a diary for this, but over time, I switched to writing on my laptop for the following reasons:
Over time, I increased the lines I wrote to express gratitude. I currently write 7 lines every day, expressing gratitude for even the most insignificant things I could be grateful for. For instance - this morning, I wrote about how grateful I am for the spice box I use to store spices in because it makes cooking comparatively manageable). This conscious effort has blended into my behaviour to the point that I have noticed myself expressing gratitude openly during the day. I find joy in small things, which most people would not, and I attribute this feeling of bliss and positivity to gratitude journaling. I also find it easier to express this gratitude and appreciation towards the people I value, making my relationships more fruitful.
Consistently hitting the gym has imbibed the concept of progressive overload in me. I constantly search for the aspects of my life which could benefit from me progressively overloading myself to push my limits - for example, learning a new language or meditating for a few extra minutes more than usual.
With 2024 right around the corner, the opportunity to progressively overload the habit of expressing gratitude presents itself. I plan to write gratitude letters to the people I hold dear to my heart, develop the habit of savouring three good things that happen to me each day, and express gratitude for the little things in life as often as possible. I plan to write messages to people who have helped me, even if it was as small as just lending me a pen.
2024 is an exciting year for me, with multiple facets of my life posing innumerable challenges that I need to overcome. But with the help of gratitude, patience, and the discipline to stick to the habit, I believe I can stay positive and perform at the highest calibre, even in the darkest of times.
Only time will tell.