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![How Gratitude Leads to Good Health and Happiness HOW GRATEFUL ARE WE? 52% of women express gratitude on a regular basis Vs. 44% of men What Are we Grateful For? 69% are grateful when something unexpectedly good happens. 62% are regularly grateful for their children and family 52% are regularly grateful to God. 49% try to feel gratitude every day for something simple like a sunset. 16% say it takes something out of the ordinary for them to feel gratitude. [in tiny font:] Source: John Templeton Foundation Things Gratitude Can Do For You: • Win you new friends. Thanking a new acquaintance for help increases the chances that she will want an ongoing relationship with you. • Make you less aggressive. When you’re grateful, you’re more empathetic with others and therefore less aggressive. • Increase your self-esteem. You’ll be less likely to compare yourself unfavorably to others. • Increase your resilience and mental strength. • Being grateful can, over time, help you to see that your internal resources are more abundant than you previously thought. [Can we add a line under here like on the others above? ] [Make this a chart:] How We Feel About Thanksgiving 76% Important day to spend time with family 10% I celebrate it but don't really think about it. 8% I’d rather order pizza 6% My favorite day of the year [in small text:] Source: 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll THE LINK BETWEEN GRATITUDE AND HEALTH Being thankful, whether to a specific person or just for, say, waking up in the morning, contributes to wellbeing. In fact, in a study of character strengths, gratitude was found to be the single best predictor of well-being. Men and women with heart disease who practiced gratitude showed significant improvement in heart health. Grateful teens are less likely to abuse alcohol and drugs. How Gratitude Boosts Attitude Research shows that appreciating what we have brings greater positivity and life satisfaction, even when scientists disregarded the effects of optimism, spirituality, and emotional self-awareness. Materialistic people are more likely to be depressed and unsatisfied because they have a hard time being grateful for what they have. People who are grateful are more likely to demonstrate self-control. This can help foster better decisions regarding healthy eating, smoking, avoiding impulse purchases and saving money. Nature or Nurture Think you’re “wired” to see the glass half empty? There’s hope! Practices like meditation or counting blessings can cause an increase in positivity and happiness. Gratitude can come from one’s natural inclination, or from the effect of positive events . HOW TO GET GRATEFUL 4 Ways to Have More Gratitude in Your Life: #1 Surround yourself with visual reminders of what you’re grateful for, such as a photo of a loved one or a souvenir from a wonderful trip. #2 Remember the bad times. It may sound counterintuitive, but thinking of struggles you made it through reminds you how good you have it now. #3 Every day, choose a run-of-the-mill object—it could be your dinner salad, your shoes or your desk chair—and think of something you appreciate about it. #4 Once a week, take 15 minutes to remember a time you were grateful to someone. Write them a letter thanking them for it. You don’t even have to send it to benefit, according to research! [related to the previous item:] But you can get a big happiness bonus, research shows, if you personally deliver the letter to the recipient. And to give your happiness an even bigger boost , read it aloud to him or her. LOVE AND THANKS Want to get along better with your romantic partner? Say thank you more. It makes you feel better in and of itself, but expressing your thanks also creates a feedback loop, causing your partner to express more gratitude, too. Box: Bedtime Ritual Want a quick way to feel better? Keep a “gratitude journal.” Put a small notebook by your bed, and each night write 3 things you were grateful for that day. You’ll also improve your sleep, by creating more positive thoughts in your mind and ridding yourself of negative ones right before bed. [Quote]](https://hpf-happify-marty-prod-user-uploads.happify.com/cms_uploads/en_US/img/happifiers/happify-gratitude-01_097295b.png)