31 Benefits of Gratitude: The Ultimate Science-Backed Guide

Do you want more from your life?

More happiness?

Better health?

Deeper relationships?

Increased productivity?

What if I told you that just one thing can help you in all of those areas?

One strategy that can help is to develop the habit of gratitude.

But what is gratitude?

Gratitude is simply taking time to think about all the positive things in your life. Rather than ruminating on the negatives. It does not necessarily necessitate actually telling anyone else you are thankful for the things they have done. (although, that helps)

Gratitude may be one of the most overlooked tools for increasing happiness. Research shows it is the single most powerful method of increasing happiness.

Having an attitude of gratitude doesn’t cost any money. It doesn’t take much time. But the benefits of gratitude are enormous. Research reveals gratitude can have these seven benefits:

Positive psychology research has shown that gratitude touches on many aspects of our lives. Our emotions. Personality. Social dynamics. Career success and health. All of these can contribute to increasing our basic happiness.

An example of these benefits of gratitude and how they work to improve happiness is illustrated in the image below.

31 Benefits of Gratitude example image. how gratitude effects emotions personality. social. health. career and ultimately happiness

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The Hedonic Treadmill – If Only Happiness Were Just a Marriage, a Big House, and Kids

Creating happiness is harder than you think – many of the activities you think will make you happier… do very little. Having money, a perfect family and great kids will not, by itself, intrinsically bring happiness. Many of the goals that people strive for are the same way. See whatDaniel Kahneman, founder of Behavioral Economics … Read more

Mental Contrasting – The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Wouldn’t it be great if you were more likely to achieve success in your goals, just because you take the time to think about the positive outcomes? This is part of the promise of books like The Secret. That visualization and positive thinking can help you achieve just about anything. But is there any real … Read more

Feeling Alone: Why Does Loneliness Hurt So Bad? (and How to Deal With Feelings of Self-Isolation)

Learn about social isolation symptoms and why you are not alone in feeling lonely or feeling alone in a relationship.

Do you feel alone, even when you are surrounded by people? You are not alone in feeling lonely. According to a study from the loneliness experts at the University of Chicago, over half of all Americans feel lonely. That is a lot of loneliness out there. Many people feel alone. So what causes those feelings … Read more

6 Life-Changing Methods to Not Feel Lonely All the Time

If you feel isolated and simply don’t know how to not feel lonely, this article is for you.

Loneliness sucks! Being lonely means feeling isolated and apart from the people around you. Even those with many “friends” are subject to loneliness if they feel the value of those connections is superficial. Almost everybody will feel lonely from time to time. But we typically cycle in and out of the feeling of as life … Read more

Aristotle’s Practical Wisdom: Does doing the right thing make you happier?

Does doing the right thing make you happier? How do we even know what the “right” thing to actually is, in a world that seems to be slipping further into hatred, mistrust, and apathy on a daily basis? The answer to these questions might be to look back to the past, rather than forward to … Read more

What Makes People Happy: 54 Ideas on How to be Happy

Discover how to be happy and how to be a happier person and find true happiness in your life with these 54 ways.

​Over a person’s lifetime, how much do you expect that their happiness will increase? Most people seem to think that the answer is ‘A LOT’. Sure, there will be tough times and the occasional sadness, but as they accomplish and accumulate, their happiness will go up and up and up. FALSE. Most people die a … Read more

How to Stop Rumination: 7 Steps to Stop Overthinking and Accomplish more

Overthinking is evil.

Like the whispers of a devil, it pretends to help while just making the situation worse.

Overthinking leads to rumination. Rumination leads to action paralysis.

Want to learn how to stop rumination?

Unfortunately, the cure for overthinking is as complex as the cause.

But follow these 7 steps and you can slowly but surely rid yourself of the poison known as ooverthinking and rumination.Step 0 – Get Treatment if DepressedStep 1 – Understand That You Can Influence Your EmotionsStep 2 – Accept That Overthinking Won’t Give You an InsightStep 3 – Know When You’re OverthinkingStep 4 – Ignore Your RationalizationsStep 5 – Assert ControlStep 6 – Distract YourselfStep 7 – Tackle The Problem

Sidebar: One of the simplest ways to reduce rumination is to declutter your mind. This book can help you make that happen.

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Goal Setting Research

There is impressive science behind the theory of goal setting. This post is a sampling of the research on goal setting, in chronological order. This goal setting research list contains most of the high points on our understanding of the importance of goal setting found by scientists, psychologists and other researchers over the past 40+ … Read more