The

 Practice  of  Gratitude  –  Listening  

Fluency  #77  

by  woodleywonderworks  
 

Today  the  sun  is  shining,  the  birds  are  tweeting,  my  family  is  healthy,  I  
have   real   friends   that   I   care   for   deeply,   and   I’m   drinking   a   cup   of  
delicious   coffee   as   I   start   my   day.   I   truly   have   much   to   feel   thankful  
for.   On   the   other   hand,   I   also   have   a   lot   of   work   to   do,   my   car   is  
making   a   troubling   noise   that   probably   is   going   to   cost   me   money,   the  
DJ  next  door  has  just  started  playing  his  music  a  little  too  loudly,  and  
I’m  feeling  a  bit  worried  about  finding  a  new  job.  

According   to   positive   psychologists,   people   who   choose   to   regularly  

focus   on   the   positive   things   over   the   negative   things   live   happier   lives.  
Martin   Seligman   is   a   professor   of   psychology   at   the   University   of  
Pennsylvania  and  is  also  considered  the  father  of  positive  psychology.  
Psychology   often   focuses   on   helping   sick   people,   but   the   field   of  
positive  psychology  attempts  to  help  normal  people  become  happier.  
In  the  1980’s  Seligman  did  research  into  personality   traits  and  found  
that   people   who   focused   more   on   bad   things   and   who   had   little  
appreciation  for  the  good  things  in  their  life  were  less  happy  and  less  
satisfied  with  life.  It  seems  obvious,  right?  The  more  you  focus  on  the  
good  in  your  life,  the  happier  you  will  be.  

Seligman   asked   his   students   keep   a   gratitude   journal,   where   they  

wrote  down  5  things  they  felt  grateful  for  every  week  for  10  weeks.  At  
the   end   of   the   10   weeks,   his   students   reported   less   stress   and   more  
happiness.  Seligman  later  had  other  students  write  letters  of  gratitude  
to   special   people   in   their   lives.   He   then   had   them   visit   these   special  
people   and   read   them   the   letters   out   loud.   This   resulted   in   even  
higher  levels  of  happiness  and  deeper  connections  between  people.  

The   practice   of   gratitude   or   appreciation   for   the   good   things   in   your  

life  can  increase  your  happiness  not  just  in  the  moment,  but  also  long-­‐
term.   Many   people   practice   gratitude   by   keeping   a   gratitude   journal.  
Try   it   out.   Everyday,   write   down   3-­‐5   things   that   you’re   thankful   for.  
This  could  be  big  things  like  getting  a  new  job,  or  small  things  like  the  
joke   you   just   shared   with   your   friend.   It’s   a   cycle   that   builds   upon  
itself.  The  more  we  practice  feeling  appreciation  for  the  good  things  in  
life,  the  more  we  naturally  start  to  notice  good  things.  

Watch  Seligman’s  gratitude  letter  experiment  re-­‐created  in  the  video  

below.  Then  leave  us  a  comment  saying  who  or  what  you’re  grateful  
for  today.  

 
Vocabulary  
attempts   to   –   tries   to,   strives   to,   or   endeavors   to.  traits   –  
distinguishing   qualities,   aspects,   or   characteristics.   This   word   is   often  
used   when   talking   about   people   and   animals   and   their  
personalities.  gratitude   –   a   feeling   of   appreciation,   gratefulness,   or  
thankfulness  toward  something,  someone,  or  a  situation.