By being gracious of their past (i.e., think of positive childhood memories).Three common ways people can express their gratitude are: A possible theory is that gratitude moves people to experience more positive emotions, to thoroughly enjoy the good experiences, better their health, face adversity, and develop and maintain relationships of strength, which in turn makes you happier. Researchers in Positive Psychology have found that gratitude and happiness are always strongly correlated. The Psychology of Gratitude and Happiness

A Take-Home Message: The key is gratitude.

Is There a Link Between Happiness and Gratitude?.The Psychology of Gratitude and Happiness.These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients connect to more positive emotions and enjoy the benefits of gratitude. There are some serious science-based theories behind each of these emotional states of being.īefore you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Gratitude Exercises for free. Gratitude and happiness are more than just a state of mind or a gesture. Furthermore, happiness is related to life satisfaction, moments of pleasure, and appreciation of life (Khoda, 2016). Gratitude is an appreciation from receipt of something tangible or intangible from an individual (Giving thanks makes you happier).Īs stated before, happiness has many definitions, but let’s look at the one from Positive Psychology, it’s defined as experiencing frequent positive emotions, like joy, pride, and interest with less negative emotions like anger, sadness, and anxiety (Lyubomirsky, 2008). If we take a deeper look at gratitude, we find that ‘gratia’, is the Latin origin for ‘ gratitude’ and means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness. As more and more people are becoming aware of the benefits of applying Positive Psychology evidence-based theory, science, and methods to their daily life, gratitude and happiness are rising to the top of the ‘priority self’-checklist.

Gratitude and happiness are two topics that have been long researched but only recently became hot topics. The English language has about 550 to 600 words for different emotional experiences, two of these “emotional experiences” are gratitude and happiness (Averill, 1997). We each have our own definitions of these, and for the most part, they will probably sound pretty similar.īut if we were to take a deeper dive into the two, we would we find out more about ourselves, for instance, our behavioral tendencies and emotional wellbeing, than just what is a standard definition of each.

Gratitude quotes