What is gratitude? You might say it is the process of being thankful, or you might say it is a feeling of appreciation for something or someone. Either way - you would be correct!

While there are many definitions by leaders in the field, gratitude, simply put, is the expression and experience of thankfulness or appreciation. When we take it a step further we begin to reflect on gratitude as not just an action but as a core emotion in the human experience. It helps us to communicate and build relationships with others and reflect on how we see the world around us.

One way to think of it? Gratitude is a shared language that helps us to do many things including:

• form new relationships or strengthen existing ones

• communicate feelings

• make amends or offer a new perspective

• discover motivation

• regulate big emotions

• and more (Ackerman, 2017)

But, why is gratitude important? When we reflect on gratitude as both an action (something we can do) and an emotion (something we can feel), we can begin to see the impact gratitude can have collectively, or socially, and independently.

Socially, gratitude serves as that shared language that can bring people together. A white paper developed for the John Templeton Foundation by the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley (2018) highlighted that recent research suggests gratitude

• inspires people to be more prosocial (collaborative, kind, generous, etc.)

• strengthens relationships by reminding individuals of the qualities in others that bring them joy and help them to feel their best

Independently, gratitude plays a role in helping us to better understand ourselves in order to manage emotions, build connections with others, and make healthy decisions. Research suggests that gratitude may be associated with

• decreased mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety

• improved physical and psychological health outcomes

• increased happiness and life satisfaction

In more recent studies, researchers have found that gratitude may also have a significant impact on children and adolescents citing greater interest in school, strengthened social integration, improved mood, and increased prosocial behavior in the classroom (Allen, 2018).

So what does gratitude look like? Gratitude can be experienced and expressed in a variety of ways and will look different based on each person’s unique experience.

Gratitude may be felt or expressed based on an occasion such as giving or receiving a gift, giving or receiving words of affirmation for an act of service, etc. It can also be something experienced through a gratitude practice. A gratitude practice helps us to shift from what is wrong to what is well or feeling right.

One of the easiest ways to start a gratitude practice is with the Three Good Things exercise. In this exercise, reflect on three good things from your day, each day for at least one week. Write or draw them in a journal before bed. Spend time discussing with a friend or family - in the morning or around mealtimes and reflect on why those things stood out and any feelings you had. Over time, grow your gratitude practice with other activities such as journaling, creating a gratitude jar, or making a gratitude tree.

You can also practice gratitude with others by writing a gratitude letter to someone who has made an impact, volunteering or showing acts of kindness, sharing encouragement or words of affirmation, and more. Find more ideas at https://positivepsychology.com/gratitude-exercises/.