The Benefits of Gratitude: A Simple Practice That Can Improve Your Health and Happiness
I’m gearing up for a little R&R, and this year we’ve decided to make it a staycation.
If I’m being honest, I’ve found myself feeling a little anxious about it. Home equals work, and I’m wondering how we’ll keep the balance without squandering our precious time off.
Maybe you can relate.
If you’re anything like me and occasionally suffer from a case of FOMO (fear of missing out), summertime can feel surprisingly chaotic.
The beautiful weather brings more gatherings, more projects, more places to visit, and more pressure to soak up every minute of our short Canadian summer.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about how to slow down without feeling like I’m missing out.
One idea keeps coming back to me: gratitude.
Not the kind that’s about pretending everything is perfect.
I’m talking about something a little more nuanced.
Why Gratitude Matters More Than We Think
It turns out our brains are naturally wired with something called a negativity bias.
From an evolutionary perspective, that made perfect sense. Our ancestors survived because they paid attention to danger. Even today, our brains are far better at noticing what’s wrong than what’s going right.
Gratitude doesn’t erase life’s challenges. It simply helps us widen the lens.
Research continues to show that the benefits of gratitude extend well beyond feeling thankful. People who regularly practice gratitude tend to experience:
- Better sleep
- Lower stress
- Greater emotional resilience
- Stronger relationships
- Healthier lifestyle habits
- Improvements in heart health markers like blood pressure and inflammation
A Gratitude Practice That Goes Beyond Making a List
Here’s the part that surprised me.
Practicing gratitude isn’t simply making a list of things you’re thankful for (although there’s certainly nothing wrong with that).
Research suggests it’s even more powerful to revisit and re-experience moments of gratitude.
For example:
Think of one person who has made your life a little easier.
Don’t just name them.
Replay the moment.
What happened?
What did they say or do?
How did it make you feel?
Now stay with that feeling for a minute or two.
It sounds almost too simple, but intentionally revisiting those moments appears to have a much greater impact than simply listing what we’re grateful for.
The Power of Expressing Gratitude
There’s another fascinating piece to this research.
The benefits don’t stop with feeling gratitude—they also come from expressing it.
So why don’t we tell people they matter more often?
Usually because we worry it’ll feel awkward.
We wonder if we’ll say the wrong thing.
We convince ourselves our gesture is too small to make a difference.
“It’s only a card.”
“It’s just a quick text.”
“It’s only soup.”
But research suggests we’re getting it backwards.
We consistently underestimate how much our small acts of kindness mean to someone else while overestimating how awkward they’ll feel for us.
The recipient usually isn’t judging our words.
They’re simply touched that someone thought of them.
My Summer Gratitude Challenge
So here’s my little challenge for both of us this summer.
Is there someone you appreciate but have never told?
Has someone quietly made your life a little easier?
Could you send the text?
Write the note?
Drop off the soup?
Offer to help?
Don’t wait until you find the perfect words.
Perfection is the enemy of kindness.
Slowing Down and Savouring What Matters
As I head into a few weeks of slower mornings, bike rides, campfires, and hopefully resisting the urge to tackle every project on our property, this is the reminder I’m taking with me too.
Not to make summer bigger and busier.
To let the people I appreciate know that I appreciate them.
Maybe that’s what gratitude really is—not adding one more thing to our to-do list, but paying closer attention to what’s already here.
And perhaps that’s one of the greatest benefits of gratitude: it doesn’t ask us to change our lives. It simply helps us notice the goodness that’s already woven into them.
Before I sign off for a few weeks, I just want to say thank you.
Whether you’re new here or you’ve been reading these newsletters for years, I appreciate that you choose to spend a few minutes of your week with me. I never take that for granted.
I’ll see you in a few weeks.
With gratitude,
Kim
