Greatfulness and appreciation

 

Gratitude in all forms is associated with happiness.

How to express gratitude?

 

The way of expressing gratitude is vary; it can be in the form of gift too." Here is the ideas of beautiful customized gifts for everybody buy on Amazon.

 

"In ordinary life we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give, and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich." -Dietrich

 

Whether we say ‘thank you’ to someone or receive the same from others, the feeling it brings is that of pure satisfaction and encouragement. Expressions of gratitude help in building and sustaining long term relationships, deal with adversities and bounce back from them with strength and motivation. Gratitude has a social aspect to it that argues it to be a socially driven emotion. Social psychologists believe it to be entwined with the perception of what we have done for others and what others have done for us (Emmons & McNamara, 2006).

According to them, gratitude is an emotion that directly targets at building and sustaining social bondings (Algoe, Haidt, & Gable, 2008) and reinforce prosocial responses in the future (McCullough, Kimeldorf, & Cohen, 2008).

“It is not happiness that brings us gratitude. It is gratitude that brings us happiness.”

Gratitude may be a gesture or a group of kind words that we give or receive from others. But these simple exchanges of thankfulness goes a long way in affecting our overall biological functioning – especially the brain and the nervous system. The effect of gratitude on the brain is long lasting (Zahn et al., 2007).

Besides enhancing self-love and empathy, gratitude significantly impacts on body functions and psychological conditions like stress, anxiety, and depression. It is strongly related to wellbeing (Jans-Beken et al., 2020; Wood et al., 2010). The positive effects of experiencing and expressing gratitude are endless. Moreover, gratitude has been found to be beneficially associated with social wellbeing, emotional wellbeing, and psychological wellbeing (Jans-Beken et al., 2020). It is no surprise that trait gratitude is an important “predictor of wellbeing and other desirable life outcomes” (Portocarrero et al., 2020, p. 6).

Likewise, people who are not thanked may not be expected to provide reciprocation in the future. The expression of gratitude is beneficial for both individuals and society (Bono et al., 2004)

 

References and further reading:

The Neuroscience of Gratitude and Effects on the Brain (positivepsychology.com)

What is Gratitude and Why Is It So Important? (positivepsychology.com)

Science Proves That Gratitude Is Key to Well-Being | Psychology Today