Becoming Grateful Day 18: Define Gratitude

DEFINE GRATITUDE

What is gratitude? Well, it's a noun. It comes from a Latin word. It's the state of being grateful. But does that really explain it? It means being thankful. What does it mean to be thankful? It means showing appreciation of course. Well, what does that mean? What does it mean to you?

Most people would describe gratitude as an emotion or expression of appreciation. It's commonly thought of as a feeling. While this is true, I'd like to propose that it is something more. In addition to an emotion, I think gratitude is an action. Hold on, you mean it's a noun and a verb? (You didn't know you were going to get a little grammar lesson today did you?) What I mean is, when we feel gratitude, true gratitude, it moves us to do something. It changes our behavior. We feel thankful and we do something about it. Our behavior changes and is reflected in the words we choose to use, how we interact in our relationships with others, how we view our lives and react to things as we go about our daily business. We aren't grumpy or Gratitude moves us see the situation of someone in need in a different way. Rather than just feeling glad we have more, gratitude pushes us do reach out and help those less fortunate.

“She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy."

-Proverbs 31:20

If we have true gratitude in our hearts, we are humble and eager to look for opportunities to give back. We feel indebted and want to do good for others to pay back all the blessings we have. For me, this means giving thanks and praise to God as the source for all the goodness in my life. When I feel more gratitude for God, I feel more love for God. So gratitude, true and pure gratitude, can also be defined as love. 

“And also that they might give thanks to the Lord their God… that they might rejoice and be filled with love towards God and all men.”

-Book of Mormon, Mosiah 2:4

This is what gratitude means to me. It means feeling thankful and blessed and then behaving and living in a way that reflects that. Think about what gratitude means in your life. Spend a few minutes today to think about your own definition. Then write it down in your gratitude journal. Whether you write a well thought out definition or simply a collection of words that you think of, try to express what being grateful means in your own life. Once you can express what gratitude means in your own life, you can move towards that meaning and towards Becoming Grateful.

If you need some ideas to help you brainstorm on what it means to be grateful, take a few minutes to watch this video by Robert Emmon, "What Good is Gratitude." While working Becoming Grateful this month, I've learned a lot about Robert Emmons, one of the leading scientists on gratitude and how it impacts our lives. He's studied the subject nearly exclusively for over ten years, written books, gives lectures, and done studies on gratitude. Still, he says he's not always the most grateful person. In this clip Robert Emmons explains some of the benefits of showing gratitude and why being grateful is good.

 

Want a way to find out where you land on the gratitude-o-meter? Check out this Gratitude Quiz from Greater Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life. While no quiz can really tell you how thankful you feel, this is a good way to check on how you react to different situations in life and determine actions you can take to increase your own appreciation and Become Grateful.