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Greetings!
My friend Phil Renicks conducts spiritual formation audits of Christian schools in the U.S. I once asked him for any conclusions I could share in my speeches. He said, "There is one character quality that Christian young people, parents and even teachers seem to universally lack: gratitude."
Astounding, isn't it, that people who have experienced God's saving grace, and who live in the most privileged nation in world history, are ungrateful for what they have received?"
For several years now I've appreciated the way scholar Robert Emmons has turned attention toward the power of gratitude. According to Dr. Emmons' research, grateful people are:
* Higher in positive emotions and life satisfaction
* Lower in negative emotions such as depression, anxiety, and envy
* More empathic, forgiving, helpful, and supportive
* Less focused on the pursuit of materialistic goals
* More spiritually and religiously minded
* More extraverted
* More agreeable
* Less neurotic
* As leaders, more sensible of their responsibility toward employees
* More sensible of their responsibility toward societal issues
Imagine my surprise to see Dr. Emmon's worthy conclusions featured in an excellent Wall Street Journal article yesterday. Read it here. The article includes a practical exercise, designed by Jeffrey Froh at Hofstra University, that you can use with your holiday guests:
Ask each person to think of a time someone went out of their way to help them, and write an answer to the following questions:
1. What did the person do to help you?
2. How do you know that his/her help was intentional?
3. What did it cost that person to help you? (For example, time, money or effort)
4. How were you benefited by this person's help?
5. How did this person's help make you feel?
Bonus: what will you do to show your gratitude to this person for their help?
Share your responses with one another and inspire an attitude of gratitude!
Happy Thanksgiving,
Dr. Jeff Myers
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