This mental jujitsu practice, in a single word, is gratitude.
Before you start snoring and clicking away on your mouse, thinking, “Oh, yeah, that’s what my grandmother used to go on and on about and made me yawn,” let’s look at some research that might surprise you.
One major research project on gratitude showed that a gratitude practice resulted in the following effects on well-being:
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Higher levels of life satisfaction and more optimism and vitality about life.
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Better progress toward personal goals and goal attainment.
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Reduced levels of stress and depressed mood.
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Greater alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy in young adults.
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More prosocial behavior, such as helping and providing emotional support to others.
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Reduced focus on materialism as a definition of one’s success, as well as fewer feelings of envy toward others.
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Greater “positive moods, a greater sense of feeling connected to others, more optimistic ratings of one’s life, and better sleep duration and sleep quality,” in adults with neuromuscular disease.