19th December 2008

While you are waiting today - review your day-to-day life and work out what makes you feel alive and what drains you; make a note of them.

In an experimental comparison, those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).

Spirituality: Those who regularly attend religious services and engage in religious activities such as prayer and reading religious material score are more likely to be grateful. Grateful people are more likely to acknowledge a belief in the interconnectedness of all life and a commitment to and responsibility to others (McCullough et al., 2002). Gratitude does not require religious faith, but faith enhances the ability to be grateful.

Materialism: Grateful individuals place less importance on material goods; they are less likely to judge their own and others success in terms of possessions accumulated; they are less envious of others; and are more likely to share their possessions with others relative to less grateful persons.

Source Robert Emmons, Professor of Psychology, University of California, Davis, USA, author of Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier (Houghton-Mifflin)