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Writer's picturedanibirkeland
Nov 30, 20236 min read

Gratitude is more than an Attitude

Updated: Dec 3, 2023

Research is catching up with what the Bible says about being thankful and how practicing gratitude provides health benefits

The practice of gratitude has been going on for centuries. The Bible is filled with verses about giving thanks and being grateful for all that you've been given. The Old Testament is filled with stories of people praising God for his goodness even in the face of extreme difficulties. For instance, David from "David & Goliath", fought battles in King Saul's army. He was stuck in situations where he was fearful of being killed, at one point by a jealous King Saul, and even in his anguish and despair, he praised God.


If you have never read the Psalms that David wrote, you should give them a looksy. They are raw emotion. They aren't written during a week at a spa retreat to get centered and in touch with your inner self. No, he was in caves, in the wilderness, fighting battles, running for his life... he was in the thick of despair. And, in his cries for mercy, before God had done a thing, David praised and thanked God for his goodness because God had been faithful in the past. David had an attitude of gratitude.


Then, take Job. He was a man that was truly blessed with a beautiful family, land, livestock, health and just a good life. It was all taken away from him by Satan who believed Job would curse God for allowing him so much pain and suffering. It didn't happen. And, it's not because he was surrounded by love and support from his friends, well, not positive love and support, anyway. Their advice was to curse God. Even his wife told him to curse God and die. Now, I cut her some slack because she, too, lost everything. But Job wouldn't do it. He believed God was good and merciful, so he continued to praise God and thank Him for his blessings. Can you imagine?! And, what happened in the end? God restored Job. He healed him, gave him more children, land and livestock. Job had an attitude of gratitude.


1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”


Being thankful and grateful moves our attention away from our ourselves and onto the bigger picture. We don't wallow in self-pity or in our unfavorable circumstances. Being thankful reminds us that we are loved by God, that He is in control, and He has given us every spiritual blessing. Gratitude won't necessarily change our circumstances, but it will change your heart and how you respond in all types of circumstances. It also changes those around you. Have you ever noticed how a negative Nellie can bring everyone down? Well, the same happens when you're a positive Polly. When you're positive and grateful in trying times, that affects others. Gratitude is contagious.


There's more! Now, research is showing how gratitude can improve your health - mental health and physical health. It's really a win-win. The question is how do you "practice gratitude"? Because, let's be honest, it doesn't come naturally to most of us.


First, I'm going to share how I practice gratitude, the practices research suggests, and then I'll share the many benefits of being thankful and grateful. For me, since I'm a Christian, the one most important thing I can do to stay grateful is.... Nope. One and two really go together, and both are pretty darn important. First, I read the Bible most everyday. It may be just one verse or it may be a chapter or two. But reading God's Word has power. Then, the second is to pray. And, once again, I may pray a verse or say how thankful I am that God is good and that He loves me. Or, I may go more in-depth with my praise and prayer list. The point is that daily reading of the Bible and spending time in prayer have made me thankful and grateful for all that I have been given, which has given me the sunny disposition I have today.... well, most days! Haha!!


In the research I found they offer several suggestions to actually "practice gratitude". The most common is to keep a gratitude journal and to write in it daily or weekly. Keep track of the positive things you've experienced and the things you've appreciated - big and small. Another similar practice is to write gratitude letters, where you write a letter or note to someone else expressing your thankfulness to them. Both of these practices when done over a 3-month period showed significant mental health improvements compared to those who wrote about their feelings or daily hassles.


You can also take that gratitude letter a step further and do a gratitude visit, where you read your letter directly to that person. This showed better results than simply writing the letter and sending it off. In a study with school kids, the kids who read their gratitude letters aloud experienced more gratitude and positivity than those who wrote about daily events. This tells me that if you write in a diary about your life events, be sure to add some thoughts about things you're grateful for!


Another is meditation, but not just meditation about anything. Yep, you guessed it, gratitude meditation. Meditation is about focusing your attention, and if you practice meditation alone, it decreases stress. If you practice gratitude meditation, where you focus on people or things you're grateful for, then you become even more grateful. Similarly, you can visualize gratitude. This involves taking pictures of things that we appreciate in our lives. Seeing those things we are grateful for, once again, makes us more aware of things we have to be grateful for.


Lastly, you can start a gratitude jar. This is where you find something that you are grateful for each day, write it on a slip of paper and put the paper in the jar. At the end of the year, you go through and read all of the slips of paper. I have a friend who has a jar on her dining room table with little papers next to it. Anytime anyone is grateful for something, they can write it on a paper and put it in the jar. At some point, my friend goes through and reads all of those little pieces of paper. I can imagine her joy and laughter as she reads through all of those slips!


We still need to get to what benefits the researchers have found about an attitude of gratitude. One article I found listed 35 - 35 Scientific Benefits of Gratitude. Click on the title to bring you directly to the article for more specifics and detail, or read the shortened version below:

Physical Benefits

  1. Improves sleep

  2. Lowers blood pressure

  3. Prevents overeating

  4. Motivates you to exercise more

  5. Strengthens the immune system

  6. Improves pain tolerance

  7. Can lower blood glucose levels

  8. Improves overall well-being

  9. Reduces biomarkers of inflammation in patients with congestive heart failure

Mental, Psychological, and Spiritual Health Benefits

  1. Boosts self-confidence

  2. Improves patience

  3. Improves resiliency

  4. Reduces envy & jealousy

  5. Become more optimistic

  6. Become more forgiving

  7. Helps with handling depression

  8. Helps with overcoming addiction

  9. Improves energy & vitality

  10. Enhances spiritualism

Emotional Benefits

  1. Improves your mood

  2. Helps manage grief

  3. See memories in a more positive light

  4. Contributes to happiness

Social Benefits

  1. Strengthens romantic relationships

  2. Improves relationships with friends

  3. Strengthens family support

  4. Attracts people with the same mindset

Professional Skills/Workplace Benefits

  1. Improves retention

  2. Enhances productivity

  3. Better relationships with work colleagues

  4. Enhances management capabilities

  5. Improves decision-making skills

  6. Promotes a sense of fulfillment

  7. Improves the working environment

Wow! I think that makes "practicing gratitude" well worth the effort. I've never done a gratitude journal before, but seeing how gratitude can change so many areas in your life, I'm going to have to give it a 3-month trial. Today is December 1st, and that seems like a fitting time to get started, especially because of the Christmas season. I hope you'll consider it, too. I'm also thinking 7 days is not realistic for me, so I'm going to aim for 5 days a week instead. How about you? If you join me, shoot me an email at incourage@incourage-health.com to let me know! We can check in to see how we're doing from time to time.


Also, with the holiday season, be sure to check out my FREE Guide to Tame Temptations in 7 Days! There is no time like the holidays to gain some control so things don't get out of control!


Lastly, be sure to complete the application if you're interested in working with me one-on-one. You can find the link here, on the Services page on my website (www.incourage-health.com/services) or email me at incourage@incourage-health.com, and I'll send it to you. Oh! And, One. Last. Thing... I am so grateful for those of you that you took the time to read this all the way to end! It makes my heart happy!!





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