In Leadership International we have been helping leaders and those they lead to achieve greater effectiveness in business and non-profit organisations over many years. At the same time, they have developed success in their personal and private lives.
1. Thankfulness combats stress The many impacts of stress on our health are still being uncovered. We know it can be bad, but we’re not always sure just how bad. With every study, the severity and extent of this relationship deepen. Stress impacts the gut, decreases activity levels and can lead to irritable bowel syndrome. There is even evidence chronic stress can quicken cancer progression.
2. Thankfulness builds emotional resilience Thankfulness improves mood and can even conquer more than the run-of-the-mill blues. Studies with those who suffer from depression onset by chronic disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, and spinal cord injury have found that gratitude can help people to overcome even the most traumatic adversity.
3. Thankfulness fosters connections Sororities are all about connections, but how do they cultivate them? One way is through gratitude. A 2008 study published in Emotion found that success rates of Big Sister Week, designed to solidify relationships between members, succeeded based on gratitude. Big sisters spent the period giving surprise gifts to assigned new recruits. At the end of the period of giving, matches were revealed. Little sister gratitude ratings, which corresponded more closely to how thoughtful they considered the gifts than how much they liked them, predicted the strength of their connection to their big sister and their feelings of integration in the sorority a month later.
4. Thankfulness improves sleep If you’ve ever gone without sleep, you know how important it is. Sleep helps us navigate the world. It allows us to think without thinking, unweaving the web of our day. It keeps us sharp and focused. Anything that improves sleep, improves us. Thankfulness is one such thing.
5. Thankfulness rewires your brain You may have heard the phrase “neurons that fire together wire together.” Pathways that are used are strengthened. The stronger the pathways, the easier they are to access. Scientists have identified the parts of the cortex that are activated by thankfulness. They are involved in emotional processing. They also set off like firecrackers when activated by gratitude. These are two parts of the brain you want to wire with the pathways of positive emotions.