Thinking About Gratitude

A new month brings a new theme to my blog. Over the course of this month, I’ll be posting about gratitude, gratefulness, thankfulness, and appreciation. 

What exactly is gratitude? It can mean different things to different people, at different times, and in different contexts.

Gratitude can be an emotion, a virtue, or used as a motive. It can be a moral sentiment, a coping skill, or an attitude. Gratitude can be a personality trait, a mood, or a disposition. 

According to one study, there is a two-step cognitive process to gratitude: (1) “recognizing that one has obtained a positive outcome”.(2) “recognizing that there is an external source for this positive outcome”. (Emmons & McCullough, 2003) [2376]

The external source may be God, fate, or coincidence. 

I agree with Helen, a character in Sipsworth, by Simon Van Booy, when she says, “Could what we call coincidence be something intended with meaning and purposely hidden? That would imply design. A God.” 

Just thinking about gratitude sets the stage for being grateful. As you read the gratitude blogs this month, you may find yourself feeling more grateful and saying thank-you more often. You may find yourself sleeping more soundly, smiling more frequently, and being happier. 

If you want to track and measure your level of gratitude, you can do an informal experiment by measuring your gratitude today and again at the end of the month after following my blog. 

On a scale of 1–5, how much have you felt 1) grateful, 2) thankful, and 3) appreciative? Your score is the sum of those numbers. 

Another possibility is keeping a gratitude journal. At the end of the day or week, try writing down a few things for which you were grateful.

It’s your choice to track your gratitude and tracking your gratitude may be insightful.

Why Bother?

Why bother thinking about gratitude? When we think about gratitude we set the stage for being more grateful. Being more grateful can lead to a positive life altering experience.