What Is Gratitude and What Are Some Benefits?

Much has been written about gratitude over the years, however what is it and what are some benefits? In this post, I will start to explore both of those topics. Let’s get started…

What is Gratitude?

Grat•i•tude (noun):
The state of being grateful; a feeling of thankfulness or appreciation.

Some of the definitions of gratitude include –

• “a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation” ~ Vocabulary.com
• “Br. David Steindl-Rast, suggests that two qualities belong in our basic definition of gratitude. The first is appreciation: You recognize that something is valuable to you, which has nothing to do with its monetary worth. The second quality Br. David mentions is that gratitude is gratis: freely given to you.” ~ Gratefulness.org
• “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” ~ Google
• “has been conceptualized as an emotion, a virtue, a moral sentiment, a motive, a coping response, a skill, and an attitude. It is all of these and more. Minimally, gratitude is an emotional response to a gift. It is the appreciation felt after one has been the beneficiary of an altruistic act.” ~ Emmons and Crumpler, 2000.

After reading the above definitions, how do you see gratitude? What does it mean to you?

What are the Benefits of Practicing Gratitude?

There are many benefits to practicing gratitude and they include –

• Psychological – positive emotions, alert, energetic, enthused and attentiveness,
• Physical – exercise more, have better sleep and have fewer symptoms of discomfort, and
• Social – more compassionate and altruistic.

You can watch and listen to Professor Robert Emmons as he speaks about the benefits of gratitude more in the following clip.

What are some benefits of gratitude for you? For me, when I am consciously practising gratitude, I shift my mindset from scarcity or not enough to sufficiency and enoughness (which has been a gift in itself).

Over to You…

Do you think gratitude would be beneficial in your life? If so, you are welcome to join me in the Growing with the Power of Gratitude adventure. Click here to find out more or you may even like My Gratitude Journal.

If you are ready to reclaim your courage and take the next step towards freedom and opening your heart, why not join our Toolkit?