"Psychologists studying the effects of positive emotions say gratitude can improve our sense of happiness if we turn it into a conscious and regular practice."
I read an article about happiness and it included a quiz consisting of 15 questions that were designed to let you know if you were “wired” toward happiness or if you were just a miserable person (not in those words of course). After answering each question they told you if you were right or wrong and then elaborated on the response. The quote at the beginning of this post was in response to the question, “Which is more important to happiness, A) Pleasure or B) Gratitude and of course I got it wrong allowing my “man instinct” to automatically select Pleasure. But by the time I hit the button I had already realized my mistake.
Yes, Gratitude has a larger and more lasting effect on happiness than pleasure. Once I took a moment to consider what they were saying it made complete sense and seemed so obvious and yet, I got the question wrong. Like the quote says, it can improve our sense of happiness if we turn it into a conscious and regular practice, meaning if we live our day to day lives appreciating what we have as opposed to dwelling on what we don’t have, then of course we will be happier as a result.
To use an exaggerated example; imagine waking up every morning and genuinely being thankful for EVERYTHING; the gift of waking up, the alarm clock that awakened you, the hot water to shower, the food to nourish your body, the gas to get to work, the WORK to have to get to, etc. By the time you were done being thankful you’d have no more time or energy to worry about the big screen t.v. you can’t afford or that special someone that won’t return your affections. Like I said, an exaggerated example but that is the gist. Gratitude for the blessings we have can be a fruitful and limitless source of happiness if we truly embrace the concept.
I definitely subscribe to the idea that happiness starts from within before all else. And this concept is a step towards that type of enlightenment.
~Cp
You write well. One is seldom grateful for something they perceive to be rightfully theirs! The key to gratitude and joy in is appreciating that everything you have and own (regardless of how little) is a gift. Unfortunately in the 'developed world' we see what we have as entitlements as opposed to, as you rightly put it, blessings.. and herein begins many problems!
ReplyDelete