Jessie Klein, Director of the Creating Compassionate
Communities (CCC) program, explains the importance of gratitude. With the
beginning of 2016 and a new semester on the horizon, it is vital to remember
that gratitude can improve everything from your health to your G.P.A.
Originally published in HealthZette
Homework for the Holidays: Gratitude Lessons
A strong, clear life view can lead to better health, even better grades
‘Tis the season for gifts and giving, but there is
one more ‘G’ we tend to not appreciate enough, especially at this time of year:
gratitude.
It’s tough. We’re stuck somewhat in that “it’s all
about me” generation. Kids are often inundated with elaborate and expensive
gifts at this time of year and go from house to house tearing open packages,
often without much thought for those who’ve given them or the trouble and
expense those people have gone to, in order to provide something meaningful.
But gratitude is an important lesson to teach, and
not only because it makes for a more harmonious holiday season. The American
Psychological Association also reports that grateful pre-teens and teenagers
make better grades.
According to numerous recent studies, including
one from Harvard Medical School, an attitude of gratitude and being thankful
have been shown to not only improve personal relationships, but to contribute
to lower stress, better immune systems and better everyday livelihood.
“We’ve drawn on the research, and I think it is
overwhelming, in the way gratitude contributes to a healthier outlook on life
and even physical health,” said Jessie Klein, an associate professor in
sociology and criminal justice at Adelphi University.
Through the school’s Center for Health Innovation,
she has developed a program called Creating Compassionate Communities (CCC). It
is dedicated to helping schools, communities and organizations engender empathy
and care through relationships, and ultimately decrease harmful behaviors such as
bullying.
Klein recommends that one of simplest way to have
gratitude is to keep what’s called a gratitude journal.
“It’s something I do myself, but I also teach it to
my students and my own children,” Klein said. “Having mindful meditation around
gratitude contributes to increased health and to having empathy for others.”
Keeping a gratitude journal is something Klein
said anyone can do, and should do everyday. She personally writes an entry
in her gratitude journal every morning, even a short entry, but said any time
of the day is beneficial.
Some suggestions for the types of
“thank you notes” you could jot down in a journal:
- Something someone else did for you
- Something you did for someone else
- Something you did for yourself
- Something you saw someone do for another person
“Many times the fourth ‘thank you’ is the most
moving,” Klein told Lifezette. “The ‘thank you’s’ can be as simple as holding a
door open for another person, to something larger such as paying for another
person’s college tuition.”
Another important element one might add to any
journal entry is how you feel about each of the four ‘thank yous.’
“Don’t write down how you felt at the time, but
rather how you feel now as you reflect on the nice experience,” Klein said.
“Ask yourself, ‘What needs did it fulfill? How did it make me feel?’”
Keeping track of these experiences can be a personal
growth opportunity, but can also be something beneficial to a larger group.
Klein and her students share these
experiences in class. Many times, she said, people are surprised to learn
how others feel. She added that it’s an incredibly rewarding
experience and one that is easy to replicate, specifically with family around
the dinner table.
“You learn so much about each
other,” Klein said. “People are amazed to learn what people are grateful
for even if they did say ‘thank you’ at the time the experience happened.”
She added that many times we
are not thinking enough about the positive things around us.
“Very rarely do we think about
what’s wonderful, positive and beautiful,” Klein said.
