With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, many of us will turn our attention to what we are grateful for. And gratitude is the root of happiness. When we take time to focus on the good that we have, it decreases our capacity to reflect on what is lacking in our lives. This is why I frequently say “what you focus on expands”!
Don’t let the busy holiday season distract you from focusing on what you are grateful for. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 it says “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” People that make gratitude a daily practice live happier lives. Which makes sense given that it’s God’s will for us in Christ!
Check out a few statistics I found on the benefits of gratitude…
10 Amazing Gratitude Statistics
Practicing gratitude at work and home benefits those around you and is a “gateway drug” to better personal mental health.
- 70% of employees would feel better about themselves if their boss were more grateful, and 81% would work harder.
- Employees who experience more gratitude at work report fewer depressive symptoms and stress.
- 95% of employees agree that a grateful boss is more likely to be successful.
- Regular gratitude journaling has been shown to result in 5% to 15% increases in optimism and 25% increased sleep quality.
- Lack of gratitude is a major factor in driving job dissatisfaction, turnover, absenteeism, and burnout.
- 53% of employees would stay at their company longer if they felt more appreciation from their boss.
- Gratitude reduces toxic aggression, frustration, and regret even after receiving negative feedback.
- In a study of 800 descriptive trait words, “grateful” was rated in the top 4% in terms of likeability.
- Over 90% of American teens and adults indicated that expressing gratitude made them “extremely happy” or “somewhat happy”.
- A five-minute daily gratitude journal can increase long-term well-being by 10%.
This month I want to challenge you to make daily gratitude a habit in your life. In addition to the weekly notecard and phone screen I regularly include, I’ve added a weekly gratitude sheet you can print and use to practice gratitude daily. Do your best to never write down the same thing twice! This programs your mind to always be looking for new positives in your life you can be grateful for!
Let’s use the occasion of Thanksgiving and our prompting from this week’s memory verse as inspiration to truly adopt a mindset and posture of gratitude.
Know you are loved,
