Last Thursday was Thanksgiving Day…Turkey Time, here in America. For the fortunate, it is a day packed full with food, football, family, friends, fun and more food. It’s a day when we gather with family around the table and express our gratitude for all we have been blessed with.
 |
| Turkey Thanks to Ms Tolliver |
Unfortunately for many, Thanksgiving is the only day all year that we speak about and share our list of things that we are thankful for. As a matter of fact, I intentionally introduce the concept of gratefulness in my social & emotional skill building groups for elementary students in the Spring rather than in November. ย I start by asking the kids to make a list of what they are thankful for. They are always thrown off and try to correct me,”Ms A! It’s not Thanksgiving!”
The thing is feeling grateful is an emotional tool that we can all benefit from and should have in our toolbox and at our disposal every day. This isn’t just some hippie woo woo idea. THEY say it’s real! There is growing evidence in support of the many ways that feeling grateful positively benefits us and is an all around life enhancer. In a recent UC Davis study led by Dr. Robert Emmons, researchers found there to be three main areas that an attitude of gratitude does us good.
- PHYSICAL advantages include better sleep and stronger immune systems.
- PSYCHOLOGICAL benefits such as increased optimism and happiness.
- SOCIAL bonuses like feeling less lonely and being more forgiving.
Check out all the fabulous findings of Dr. Emmons’ researchย for yourself. You may also enjoy this great, short two minute videoย on the Science of Gratitude by the Tremendousness Collective. (I love the narrator’s accent!)
Can something so good for us be simple to do too? ย Yes, yes it can. Perhaps every evening we can take turns sharing with our family what we’re grateful for at dinner time…kind of like we do at Thanksgiving, right?
Or how about starting a Family Gratitude Journal? ย My kids and I tried this a few years ago. ย I simply put ย a spiral notebook on the kitchen counter, but you can get fancyย with it if you like. Any time we walked through the kitchen we could just jot down something, anything we were feeling thankful for in that moment. ย Something simple like “School was a late start today so I am thankful I got to sleep in.” “I’m so glad I saw a rainbow this morning.” Or something more complicated, “I am thankful my friend and I were able to work out our argument.” “I’m grateful the bank noticed fraudulent charges on my credit card.”
There is no right or wrong way to feel gratitude. ย Just do it! It’s my challenge to you and your family this week…month…year…Try Giving Thanks 365.
