In my last post, I talked about the study of gratitude – what factors may be linked to greater feelings of gratitude, as well as some of the common obstacles for experiencing gratitude that people may experience. In this post we’ll delve a bit deeper into gratitude and how it impacts aspects of our lives such as the relationships we have and our health.
Gratitude and Relationships
What actually is gratitude? Robert Emmons, Ph.D., a leading scientific expert, says that gratitude has two key components:
- An affirmation of goodness: When you feel gratitude, you affirm that you live in a benevolent world.
- A recognition that the source of this goodness comes from outside of yourself: You acknowledge that other people (or higher powers) provide you with “gifts” that improve your life in some way.
According to Emmons, gratitude is “a relationship-strengthening emotion, because it requires us to see how we’ve been supported and affirmed by other people.”
Gratitude and Health
One area of life that we often take for granted and forget gratitude is health – sometimes until it’s too late.
According to Dr. Mercola, “We tend to take our health for granted until we’re suddenly in the throes of pain or a debilitating illness… If you have good health and all your mental faculties intact, you also have the prerequisite basics for doing something about the less satisfactory situations in your life.”
How do you remind yourself to be grateful for your good health, and the support of those around you? As always, I’d love to hear from you. I can be reached here or on LinkedIn.
