24 Gratefulness and Well-being in Action
Gratefulness and Well-being in Action
I suppose that all of you might have known that the key theme of this year is “Gratefulness”. But do you know why we have decided to have such a focus this year? Perhaps you can find your own answer after reading the message below.
An article titled “Counting blessings versus burdens: an experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life” (Emmons & McCullough, 2003) advocates that a conscious focus on blessings may have emotional and interpersonal benefits.
Dr. Robert A. Emmons and Dr. Michael E. McCullough had conducted an action research where the effect of a grateful outlook on psychological and physical well-being was examined. In the research, participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 experimental conditions (hassles, gratitude listing, and either neutral life events or social comparison); they then kept weekly (Study 1) or daily (Study 2) records of their moods, coping behaviours, health behaviours, physical symptoms, and overall life appraisals. All 3 groups of participants were also requested to write journals to report their feelings and reflection with reference to their assigned experimental conditions.
After the experiment, the gratitude-outlook groups exhibited heightened well-being across several, though not all, of the outcome measures across the 3 studies, relative to the comparison groups. The effect on positive affect appeared to be the most robust finding. The result of the findings seemed to prove that those who showed gratefulness all the time were having more positive well-being. They were healthier and happier, and their life was great. The implication learnt from the research confirms our beliefs that there is close relationship between gratefulness and positive well-being. So, this is the story why we have chosen “Gratefulness” as the key theme of 2021-2022.
For the action we can do in response to this key theme, I would like to suggest we start by living out that gratitude through the simple things we do every day. For example:
Please show your care, love and be grateful always, and the same will definitely return to you. With gratefulness, we are happier and healthier, are able to take better charge of our lives and find solutions to problems we might encounter each day.
Reference:
Emmons, R. A. & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: an
experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. In Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2003 Feb; 84(2):377-89