Gratitude Benefit: Happiness

University of California at Davis researcher  Robert Emmons, Ph.D., states, “The best way to reap the benefits of gratitude is to notice new things you’re grateful for every day. Gratitude journaling works because it slowly changes the way we perceive situations by adjusting what we focus on. While you might always be thankful for your great family, just writing ‘I’m grateful for my family’ week after week doesn’t keep your brain on alert for fresh grateful moments.

“Opening your eyes to more of the world around you can deeply enhance your gratitude practice. Make a game out of noticing new things each day.

“Our relationships with others are the greatest determinant of our happiness. So it makes sense to think of other people as we build our gratitude.”

Emmons suggests that focusing our gratitude on people for whom we’re thankful rather than circumstances or material items will enhance the benefits we experience. And while you’re at it, why not include others directly into your expression of gratitude? One Happify.com activity involves writing a gratitude letter to someone who had an impact on you whom you’ve never properly thanked.

Special thanks to:

• Robert Emmons, the world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude. He is a professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, and the founding editor-in-chief of The Journal of Positive Psychology

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