So where does gratitude come from?

So where does gratitude come from?

So where does gratitude come from? 

Why do some people seem to be naturally more grateful than others and are there ways we can foster more feelings and expressions of gratitude?

According to research by the John Templeton Foundation, most people have an instinctive understanding of what gratitude is, but it can be surprisingly difficult to define.

Is it an emotion?
 A virtue?
 A behavior? 

Indeed, gratitude can mean different things to different people in different contexts.

Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough define gratitude as a two-step process: 1) “recognizing that one has obtained a positive outcome” and 2) “recognizing that there is an external source for this positive outcome.”

While most of these positive benefits come from other people—hence gratitude’s reputation as an “other-oriented” emotion.

There is no doubt that gratitude will changes your attitude – as gratitude becomes a habit, it will become your predominant state of being.

The more you radiate positive energy the more you will attract positive experiences into your life.

There’s evidence of a long line of health-related benefits from being grateful. 

They include fewer physical symptoms, more time spent exercising, less physical pain, more sleep and increased sleep quality, lowered blood pressure, decreased feelings of depression, and an overall boost to vitality and energy.

It really is as simple as that!

With gratitude,
Roger