Live and be thankful

Thanking is something I learned to do even as a child. I remember that whenever a child gave me a piece of candy, my parents asked me, “And what do you say to him?” Of course, the answer was “thank you”. And that is the answer to any kind of gesture today, without even thinking.

One of the first things I do when I go to visit a country is to find out how to thank someone in the native language. One day I was asked: “Do you speak a foreign language?” “Yes, four languages ​​fluently,” I replied, “but I can thank you in 25 different languages.”

The results of studies in partnership with Positive Psychology and Medicine, strengthen the understanding of the link between gratitude and health:

You will have a healthy heart — A study of 186 men and women with heart problems assessed people’s levels of gratitude and well-being. It was found that the highest scores of expressing gratitude are linked to a better mood, better sleep quality, and less inflammation, which can worsen the symptoms of heart failure. In addition, some of the men and women were also asked, for a period of eight weeks, to write daily what they are grateful for. “We found that patients who kept gratitude journals for eight weeks showed reductions in biomarked inflammatory levels, as well as an increase in heart rate variability as they wrote. Improving heart rate is reduced heart risk, ”says study author Paul J. Mills, professor of family medicine and public health at the University of California.

You will sleep better — If you are having trouble sleeping, writing a gratitude journal before going to bed will help you sleep better. A 2011 study of college students who had trouble falling asleep due to thoughts and concerns, spent 15 minutes in the early evening writing about a positive event that occurred recently and were diagnosed as able to sleep with their minds at peace and quiet after a period 21 days from the beginning of the exercise.

Being grateful will make you happier — In a 2003 study, researchers divided a group of people. For a week, some of them wrote about what they were grateful for, others wrote about their annoyances and the third group about neutral things that happened in their daily lives. After a few weeks, the researchers found that people who wrote about things they are thankful for, were more optimistic and reported being happy and feeling better about themselves. “The results suggest that a conscious focus on blessings brings emotional and interpersonal benefits,” reveals one of the study’s authors.

Gratitude helps make new friends — Expressing gratitude is a great way to build new relationships. In a 2014 study published in the Emotion newspaper, 70 college students were asked to send comments on a college admission essay to senior students in high school, who would possibly enter that college. It turned out that, the students who thanked for school life, were more likely to be assessed as having a more open personality, to provide the younger student with personal information, such as their phone number and email address, doing so, new friendships.
Being grateful improves physical health — an analysis of almost 1,000 Swiss adults, published in the magazine Personality and Individual Differences, found that the highest levels of gratitude correlate with better physical health. People who were most grateful had a remarkable desire to participate in physical activities and maintain a healthy diet.

Thanking is a powerful leadership skill, as well as a way to demonstrate politeness and politeness. Do you thank people? Want to thank more people, customers, colleagues, and friends? What kind of long-term impact would it be to thank people in your business, your community, your career, your family?

The more you give thanks, the more friendship and loyalty you receive in return. This week, make a list of people who do good things for you that you haven’t had a chance to thank recently. Take time out of your schedule to thank them. Do it by showing your appreciation and gratitude and you will soon see a positive effect on your own life, as well as on those around you.

Source:

“Gratitude and Well Being — The Benefits of Appreciation” by Randy A. Sansone, MD and Lori A. Sansone, MD