The mental health benefits to writing a gratitude list and acknowledging what we already have
It's great to set goals and aim to achieve something new, but being thankful for what has already happened can have a surprisingly powerful effect.
Whether it's penning resolutions for a new year or deciding to set new goals after a major life change, writing down a list of intentions can signal the beginning of some positive change, and can act as a powerful motivator.
However, objectives aren’t always met. Perhaps the items on the list are unrealistic or vague, or perhaps life just gets in the way, and priorities change.
In contrast to the traditional New Year’s resolutions list – where we are looking ahead and planning what we hope to achieve in the future – a gratitude list looks to our present and our past – which can be as recent as the last 24 hours. Gratitude has become a popular research area within Positive Psychology in recent years, and its benefits for mental well-being have been found to be far-reaching.
In his publications, Dr Robert Emmons, a professor of psychology at the University of California and a leading expert on gratitude research, suggests there are two layers to gratitude. The first is recognising that there is good in the world, and good in our own lives. The second layer is realising that much of this goodness is not thanks to us, but because of other people, and that we should feel and express appreciation for this.
Research has shown that expressing gratitude increases recorded levels of happiness and well-being; experiencing positive emotions has been seen to decrease negative emotions – or even undo them entirely. For example, people who experience high levels of gratitude have been found to have low levels of jealousy. It’s difficult, after all, to feel jealous of others if you’re too busy being grateful for your own good fortune.
By exercising gratitude, we’re free to be present in the moment and feel good about our own lives.
