Nurturing the Seed of Infinite Potentialities in Every Child
Just 1 Thing:
A Gratitude Activity
By Dr. Ruthie Speidel
Gratitude is not just an action, like saying thank you, it has also been described in the literature as a positive emotion, a virtue, a coping response, a skill, and an attitude that serves a biological function (Allen, 2018). This function is to nurture a deeper appreciation for someone (or something) and supports our interpersonal connections and sense of inner strength. There is growing research on gratitude that shows that practicing gratitude, even very briefly, is associated with enhanced well-being, lower stress, and more positive interpersonal relationships (Wood et al., 2010). Gratitude can also nurture what we call The 3Es of Social-Emotional Development ©: emotion regulation, empathy for others, empathy for the self (Malti & Speidel, 2023). These three capacities can support our resilience by supporting our well-being, our capacity to cope in times of challenge, and our abilities to connect with not only others, but also with ourselves.
Many studies have used clever designs to evaluate potential impacts of gratitude practice. For example, compared against different control groups and interventions, one study showed that being randomly assigned to a group that wrote 3 things that went well each day for 1 week had increased happiness and lower depressive symptoms up to 6 months later (Seligman et al., 2005). This is an adaptation of that activity that you can do anytime.
What You Need:
Pen and paper or your
phone’s notes app
What you write about can be whatever you want it to be, whatever you are feeling grateful for perhaps today, or something you have been thinking about recently, or perhaps something that you typically don't think about that much or that you take for granted. It could be a person or a thing or maybe something that happened to you.
Gratitude prompts:
• What was the best thing that happened today?
• Who makes you feel loved and why?
• What is something that makes you happy?
• What cheers you up when you have a rough day?
• What inspires you?
• What memory are you grateful for?
Take some time to reflect on one thing you are grateful for this week.
l.
2.
Write it down in a journal, your phone's notes app, etc.
3.
Now, write five sentences about it.
Why write more? Research shows that the benefits of gratitude are not limited to simply focusing on what you are grateful for. In fact, elaborating on those things is associated with the most positive impacts (Seligman et al, 2005). This suggests that although it’s helpful to recognize and name when we feel grateful — like feeling grateful for our coffee in the morning, our friends, or our garden — it’s particularly helpful to also elaborate on why we are grateful for these things and what they mean to us. Elaborating on what we are grateful for may enhance the positive impacts of gratitude by increasing our awareness of and memory for positive aspects of our lives, and by strengthening our neural pathways related to positive thinking (Emmons & McCullough, 2003; Fox et al., 2015).
For those like me who like to see examples, here’s mine.
Example:
I am grateful for my dad. I’m grateful for his calm guidance, his patience, and his genuine kindness towards me and everyone he encounters. He’s always down for a bike ride, a talk, or just relaxing on the deck with a beer while listening to some music together. Plus, he makes a mean latte and great chocolate chip pancakes. He’s the most selfless person I know and is my role model for how I try to be.
