Take a moment to reflect on how you felt when you once expressed gratitude for the assistance someone offered. In real-life situations, when we offer assistance to someone in need, we expect the person to show gratitude.
However, not everyone can express gratitude. We must learn how to express gratitude because it has numerous effects on our physical, emotional, and mental well-being. Robert Emmon, one of the leading experts on gratitude explains some benefits of gratitude.
- Gratitude allows us to celebrate the present. It magnifies positive emotions. Gratitude makes us appreciate the value of something, and when we understand the importance of something, we extract more benefits from it; we’re less likely to take it for granted. In effect, gratitude allows us to participate more in life.
- Gratitude blocks negative emotions that can destroy our happiness. Psychologist Alex wood revealed that gratitude could reduce the frequency and duration of depression because one cannot simultaneously experience negative emotions such as envy, resentment, regret, and gratitude.
- Grateful people are more stress-resistant. Several studies show that in the face of severe trauma, adversity, and suffering, people recover more quickly if they have a grateful disposition.
- Grateful people have a higher sense of self-worth. Once we express gratitude and recognize the contributions that other people have made to our life—we realize that other people have seen the value in us—we can transform the way we see ourselves.
Learn to develop an attitude of gratitude.
Writer: Dr. Etepe Dugah
1 Comment
Perp
Excellent piece