What are you thankful for?
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Our parents told us to count our blessings. Many people take that literally.
The gratitude journal is part of faith tradition and evidence-based health practice. In a 2008 experiment, Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis had different groups keep weekly journals about positive and negative or neutral experiences. People who kept their observations upbeat not only felt better about their lives but also felt better physically.
Yale’s Center for Emotional Intelligence, which promotes public school training in social skills, advocates observing and writing about things you might take for granted. “Writing helps you organize thoughts, accept experiences, and put them into context,” according to the center’s website.
The Thanksgiving holiday is a reminder that gratitude is the pragmatic thing to do. Reflecting on strengths and opportunities is essential to navigating the well-considered brief, next-step action plan, postmortem lessons-learned report or awkward dinner-table conversation.
So this week, we’d like to ask you: What are you thankful for? Has this year brought reasons to be cheerful? What gives you strength to shed your stress and work through your challenges?
Start your journaling right here, and answer in the comments.
Read the answers to last week’s question: Have you ever won elected office?
Featured answer:
Posted by cashesq: “I was elected to the New York judiciary. My activities and membership in the local, state and American Bar associations were a definite advantage to my judicial responsibilities. I was aware of the problems endured by the small firm and solo practitioners.”
Do you have an idea for a future question of the week? If so, contact us.
