How do I get started listing my Five Daily Gratitudes?
Getting involved is very easy. Each day I will be posting my
own Five Daily Gratitudes and all you have to do is post your own Five
Daily Gratitudes in the comments section below each daily posting. I
will also be posting a photo from great photographers I know to help
inspire you to think of things you want to list that you are grateful
for. Then when you are done, share you Five Daily Gratitudes with your
friends and family with the easy to use Facebook, Digg, Twitter, or StumbleUpon and other social-networking links at the bottom of each
post.
Do I have to display my name on Five Daily Gratitudes?
No, you have the option to write out your Five Daily Gratitudes
anonymously or link them to your personal website. We do require that
you provide a real email address when submitting your Five Daily
Gratitudes to help keep out spammers. However, this will not be
displayed in any posts you write.
Do I need to list my Five Daily Gratitudes each day?
The
research shows that in order to receive the psychological benefits of
this powerful positive psychology technique you need to be consistent
in writing out Five Daily Gratitudes. Ideally, you would want to do it
each day, but obviously things come up and you may be too busy or
forget (this is why it is good to sign up for the morning email =>).
But if you do miss a day, don't feel too guilty. You will still
continue to receive the psychological benefits as long as you try to
stay as consistent as you can and post your Five Daily Gratitudes
regularly.
What if I forget to list my Five Daily Gratitudes?
To solve this problem I have provided a morning email reminder option
so you don't have to keep checking the site each day on your own. You
can also make the site your home page, but signing up for an email
reminder is the most efficient method.
How do I share my Five Daily Gratitudes?
I have provided numerous ways in which you can share your Five
Daily Gratitudes with friends and family. Simply click on the links
below each posting so you can share your Five Daily Gratitudes on Facebook, Digg, Twitter, or StumbleUpon, and many other social-networking
type sites.
What should I be grateful for?
This is up to you. Occasionally it will be big things like
getting a new job, a promotion, or completing a new project. However,
most of the time you will list smaller things like getting a good
nights sleep, watching the sunrise reflect off your wall, talking to a
good friend the night before, enjoying an article in a magazine, eating
at your favorite restaurant, or enjoying how good you feel after a
morning shower. The key is to be mindful of everything that is good in
your life - be it big or small - and making a conscious effort to
increase your awareness about this gratefulness.
What format should I list my Five Daily Gratitudes in?
This is entirely up to you. But to make it simple here is a
template I use that you can cut and past to list your Five Daily
Gratitudes:
Today, I am grateful for:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
I can't think of five things to be grateful for!
At first you may feel self-conscious when you first start
writing out your Five Daily Gratitudes. It may even be a bit difficult
to come up with five, but it will get easier and easier the more often
you do it. I actually thought about only listing three, but I want us
to push ourselves a bit so we can be mindful and make a conscious
effort to discover things we can be grateful for on even the most
ordinary of days. If it was too easy, it would not bring enough meaning
and impact on our lives, so five is a good goal to shoot for.
Why are there photos in each post?
I decided to post photos long with my Five Daily Gratitudes
because I wanted to provide a bit of inspiration that could help in
writing your own list of things you are thankful for. Sometimes images
can conjure up things in our mind that we may not be fully conscious
of, so the photos can be used as a tool to think of things to be
grateful for. Plus they are just amazing to look at so you can spend a
few seconds appreciating the beauty of the picture and let them
brighten up your day. Be sure to click on the link below each picture
to see more images by photographer. Also, if you have some beautiful
photos you think would be inspirational to the Five Daily Gratitudes
community, you can find out more about how to submit it in our
Photographer FAQ section (you do not have to be a professional
photographer to submit a photo).
Can I write more?
Yes! Below
your Five Daily Gratitudes you can write a short note reflecting on why
you decided to write those specific Five Daily Gratitudes. You are also
able to comment on other people's listings by hitting the reply button
below that person's Five Daily Gratitudes.
What are the benefits of using Five Daily Gratitudes?
As
UC Davis psychologist Robert Emmons has demonstrated in his research,
“The evidence that cultivating gratefulness is good for you is
overwhelming. Gratitude is quality that we should aspire to as a part
and parcel of personal growth…Specifically, we have shown that
gratitude is positively related to such critical outcomes as life
satisfaction, vitality, happiness, self-esteem, optimism, hope,
empathy, and willingness to provide emotional and tangible support for
other people, whereas being ungrateful is related to anxiety,
depression, envy, materialism, and loneliness.
"Collectively, such
studies present credible evidence that feeling grateful generates a
ripple effect through every area of our lives, potentially satisfying
our deepest yearnings – our desire for happiness, our pursuit of better
relationships, and our ceaseless quest for inner peace, wholeness, and
contentment. Gratitude is more, through than a tool for
self-improvement. Gratitude is a way of life."
You can learn more about the science of gratitude in Emmon's' great book Thanks!: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier
Why do I have to write out my Five Daily Gratitudes?
Again,
as UC Davis psychologist Robert Emmons has demonstrated in his
research, "The important thing is to establish the daily habit of
paying attention to gratitude-inspiring events; a daily regimen is what
is required. The act of writing them down translates your thoughts into
words. Psychological research has shown that translating thoughts into
concrete language – words, whether oral or written – had advantages
over just thinking the thoughts. Writing helps to organize thoughts and
facilitate integrating, and also helps you accept your own experiences
and put them in context. In essence, it allows you to see the meaning
of events going on around you and create meaning in your own life."
What is Positive Psychology?
In
an article from the American Psychological Association, “Positive
psychology is the other side. It is the scientific pursuit of optimal
human functioning and the building of a field focusing on human
strength and virtue. It builds on the bench science and research
methods that shed light on the "dark side" of human functioning, and it
opens the door to understanding prevention and health promotion. Dr.
(Martin) Seligman (1998) noted, ‘We have discovered that there is a set
of human strengths that are the most likely buffers against mental
illness: courage, optimism, interpersonal skill, work ethic, hope,
honesty and perseverance. Much of the task of prevention will be to
create a science of human strength whose mission will be to foster
these virtues in young people.’
You can learn more about the
benefits of positive psychology by reading Dr. Martin Seligman’s great
book Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment
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