At Breakthroughealing.org I’m a huge proponent of mindfulness and gratitude combined with physical activities like Tai Chi, Qi Gong and Yoga along side channeling your Inner Chi and Unlocking your Chakras.
Why? Because…
When activities for the body, mind and soul are combined you end up with a healthy mind, strong body, positive soul and in sync inner energies.
Which is why I’m really happy to share this exciting gratitude study with you…
Today I’ll share the results, insights, and takeaways from a scientific study by the American Psychological Association on the subject of gratitude that proves just how beneficial adopting a daily attitude of gratitude and completing a gratitude journal can be for your overall wellbeing on everything from happiness, to stress levels to sleep and beyond.
This gratitude study is proof that daily gratitude brings benefits to not just the mind but the body too, so let’s dive in and see what this is all about…
Table of Contents –
First, What Is An Attitude Of Gratitude?
An attitude of gratitude simple means making a conscious effort to show gratitude every single day for everything in your life, no matter how small or trivial it may seem.
This allows you to adopt an abundance mindset over one of scarcity and see things in a positive light even when you may be struggling or in a less than ideal situation.
What Is A Gratitude Journal?
A gratitude journal is simply the practice of recording, ideally daily once in the morning and again at night, all the things you are grateful for at that point in time, no matter how small they are.
The act of writing these down reinforces these things which you have to be grateful for in your mind and makes you focus on the positive more over the negative.
Which studies have shown can “re-wire” your brain.
That is a gratitude journal in a nutshell.
What Did The Gratitude Study Examine?
In a nutshell, the study by the American Psychological Association consisted of 3 different groups….
Group 1: The first group was asked to keep a short weekly list of all the things you were grateful for.
Group 2: The second group were asked to list hassles, problems.
Group 3: And the third group neutral events.
Some of the high level results:
After 10 weeks the first group, who were listing their gratitude’s, enjoyed higher levels of satisfaction in life, felt physically better, were more optimistic and exercises more than the second and third group.
There’s specific data shared below.
You can start out by doing this for 1 week to get a feel for it or even set yourself a daily 30 days of gratitude challenge to ask yourself gratitude questions daily.
Let me share my key takeaways from the study…
12 Scientifically Proven Ways Your Life Can Be Better With An Attitude Of Gratitude Combined With Daily Gratitude Journaling
1. You Could Be Up To 15% More Optimistic
The gratitude study shows group 1 who recorded positive events and things they were grateful for were more optimistic about the weeks to come once the study ended.
Regular gratitude journaling has shown to increase optimism by 5-15%.
2. You May Feel Physically Better Even Without Exercise
Participants in group 1 felt physically better even though the study hadn’t asked them to do any physical exercises or anything different from the other groups.
It also showed they were more willing to exercise when completing daily gratitude activities which may be why they felt better.
3. A 25% Increase In Happiness
The gratitude study shows participants who practiced regular gratitude were between 10-25% happier than those who did not.
4. Positive Mood Increases
When you’re gratitude journaling daily you constantly remind your brain of the positive aspects in your life instead of defaulting to the negative thought patterns.
5. You Always Have Something To Be Grateful For IF You Ask This Question…
Participants in the gratitude study realised that if you always ask yourself “what do I have to be grateful for today?” that you WILL find something no matter how small.
Even if it is just simple things that you take for granted like “I was lucky to have food to eat today whilst other people in the world go hungry” or “I have a roof over my head whilst so many sleep rough”.
Many people mistakenly think you only have to show gratitude when you receive a gift and want to be mindful of the person who gifted it to you but that’s not enough.
Being grateful daily shows that what you have is often enough and you don’t necessarily need more.
6. Your Satisfaction With Life Can Improve
Group 1 showed higher levels of satisfaction in general thanks to showing gratitude on a daily basis
7. Reprogramming Your Brain From Negative To Positive
The gratitude study shows that when you retrain your brain to constantly look for the positive over the default negative that you can reprogram it and it will eventually start defaulting to positive.
This can be from gratitude journaling or daily gratitude affirmations.
8. Build Your Sense Of Spirituality
Even if you don’t consider yourself a religious person then daily gratitude journaling can bring you a sense of spirituality and put you in touch with your soul.
9. Helps Find Inner Peace
It’s so easy in the modern world to be in a constant state of flux and anxiety from the feeling of being so busy and overwhelmed.
The study showed that building an attitude of gratitude can help calm your mind and bring contentment.
10. Fewer Health Complaints Despite No Physical Activity or Treatment
A surprising aspect of the study was that the participants in group 1 had fewer health complaints even though daily gratitude journaling has no clear reason to improve physical health.
It may suggest the mind can be a powerful tool in how the mind effects physical health.
11. Boost Emotional Wellbeing
Participants from group 1 who kept the daily gratitude journal felt more emotionally stable and well than those who didn’t practice daily gratitude.
12. Higher Levels of Contentment
Those who practiced a daily attitude of gratitude with their gratitude journal showed higher levels of contentment with life and their current situation.
You can get inspired by these powerful mindfulness quotes.
Will You Adopt An Attitude Of Gratitude And Start A Daily Gratitude Journal Thanks To This Study?
I hope reading the takeaways from the Counting Blessings Versus Burdens: An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Daily Life by Robert A. Emmons and Michael E. McCullough have convinced you that adopting a daily Attitude of Gratitude can have a huge positive impact on your daily life and general well being.
Start your gratitude journal now and reap these same benefits those who took part in the gratitude study did!
