Mystery Infomercial
Imagine coming across an infomercial already in progress, with an enthusiastic salesperson partway through a pitch like this:
“... a TOTAL LIFE TRANSFORMATION!!! Feel happier! Live with more vitality! Improve your relationships with family and friends! Improve your blood pressure and immune functioning! Fight stress, exhaustion, and disengagement! Countless others can attest to dramatic and lasting benefits! Here’s what Norville had to say after just three weeks: ‘I was really surprised how much it helped. I just feel happier and more peaceful, like I’ve been blind for so long, but now I see so much of what I’ve been missing!’”
Skeptical? Intrigued? Maybe you’d be on the edge of your seat, guessing out loud what they might be selling: “Some kind of exotic root extract?! Virtual reality goggles?! Medical marijuana?....”
Gratitude probably wouldn’t be among your guesses, yet if a marketing specialist spent a little time with the research literature on gratitude, we could get something much like the above infomercial. We’re used to hearing “over-the-top” claims in sales and marketing, but the fact is that gratitude can deliver in all the ways described above, and more! In this module you’ll learn how gratitude is a vital component in promoting human flourishing, and what kinds of practices can help you cultivate an increased sense of gratitude in your life.
“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”
As a good starting point for what follows, please watch this 5-minute excerpt from Louie Schwartzberg's TED talk on Gratitude (starts at 4:25; narration by Brother David Steindl-Rast)
Introductory Exercise
If possible, first take a minute to just settle into the space where you are, taking a few deep and slow breaths, allowing any areas of physical tension to soften with each exhalation. Now, for a few minutes I want you to reflect on the benefits or gifts that you have received in your life. These gifts could be simple everyday pleasures, conveniences or freedoms you enjoy, people in your life, personal strengths or talents, moments of natural beauty, or gestures of kindness from others. We might not normally think about these things as gifts, but for this exercise see what it is like to think about them in this way. Take some time to really savor or relish these gifts, and think about their value. Then take the next five minutes to write your thoughts about these gifts.