Gratitude facts for kids
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Gratitude is a wonderful feeling of being thankful and appreciative. It's what you feel when someone is kind to you, perhaps by giving you a gift, helping you out, or doing you a favor.
The word "gratitude" comes from the Latin word gratus, which means "pleasing" or "thankful". When someone doesn't show gratitude when it's expected, it's called ingratitude or ungratefulness.
Gratitude has been an important part of many world religions. It has also been a big topic for philosophers throughout history.
Scientists who study the mind (psychologists) try to understand how we feel gratitude in the moment. They also look at why some people feel gratitude more often than others. They even study how gratitude can help us feel better and live happier lives.
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Gratitude vs. Feeling Indebted
Sometimes, people confuse gratitude with feeling indebted. Both feelings can happen when someone helps you. But they are different!
When you feel indebted, it means you feel like you owe someone something in return. You might feel like you have to pay them back for their help. This feeling can sometimes make you want to avoid the person who helped you.
Gratitude, on the other hand, makes you want to connect with the person who helped you. It makes you want to improve your relationship with them. It's about appreciation, not obligation.
For example, a study looked at how young people who moved to a new country felt about their parents. It found that gratitude helped families stay close. But feeling indebted could make relationships harder. The study also showed that if helpers expected something back, the feeling of being indebted went up, but gratitude went down.
Gratitude in Religions
Being spiritual and feeling grateful often go hand-in-hand. Studies show that being spiritual can help a person feel more grateful. People who often go to religious services or do religious activities tend to feel more gratitude in their lives.
Gratitude is highly valued in many major religions, including Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Baháʼí, and Hinduism. Giving thanks to God, or a similar religious figure, is a common idea in these faiths. The idea of gratitude is found throughout religious books, teachings, and traditions. It's one of the main feelings that religions try to encourage in their followers.
Jewish Beliefs About Gratitude
In Judaism, gratitude is a very important part of worship and daily life. Jewish people believe that everything comes from God. Because of this, being grateful is key for followers of Judaism.
The Hebrew Scriptures, like the Psalms, are full of the idea of gratitude. For example, it says: "O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever." And "I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart."
Jewish prayers often include gratitude. The Shema prayer starts with thanks, saying: "You shall love the Eternal, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might." One important blessing in the daily Amidah prayer is called Modim, which means "We give thanks to You." Jewish people also say over one hundred blessings, called berachot, throughout the day to show thanks.
Judaism also teaches that it's very important to be grateful for the kindness and good deeds of other people.
Christian Beliefs About Gratitude
Martin Luther, a famous Christian leader, called gratitude "the basic Christian attitude." Today, it's still seen as "the heart of the gospel." Christians are encouraged to praise and thank their creator.
In Christian gratitude, God is seen as the generous giver of all good things. Because of this, feeling grateful helps Christians feel connected to each other. It shapes their thoughts and actions. Christian gratitude is more than just a nice feeling. It's a virtue that guides emotions, thoughts, actions, and deeds.
Jonathan Edwards wrote that gratitude and thankfulness toward God are signs of true faith. Some studies have even shown that love and gratitude were the most common feelings Catholic nuns and priests felt towards God.
In many Christian churches, like Orthodox, Catholic, Lutheran, and Anglican, the most important service is called the Eucharist. This name comes from a Greek word meaning "thanksgiving."
Islamic Beliefs About Gratitude
The Islamic holy book, the Quran, is full of the idea of gratitude. Islam encourages Muslims to be grateful and thank Allah in all situations.
Islamic teachings say that those who are grateful will be rewarded even more. A traditional Islamic saying is: "The first who will be summoned to paradise are those who have praised God in every circumstance." The Quran also states that grateful people will be given more by Allah.
Many Islamic practices help people feel grateful. For example, one of the Five Pillars of Islam is daily prayer. Muslims pray to Allah five times a day to thank him for his goodness. Another pillar is fasting during the month of Ramadan. This fasting helps believers feel grateful for what they have.
How Gratitude Affects Your Life
Feeling grateful can make your life much better! It not only brings positive feelings but also reduces negative ones. People who are more grateful tend to be happier and more satisfied with their lives. They are also less depressed and less stressed. They often have better social relationships too.
Grateful people feel more in control of their lives. They experience more personal growth and have a stronger purpose in life. They also accept themselves more. They are better at dealing with life's difficulties. They are more likely to ask for help from others and learn from their experiences. They also spend more time planning how to solve problems.
Grateful people use fewer negative ways to cope. They are less likely to avoid problems, pretend problems don't exist, or blame themselves. Grateful people also sleep better because they think more positive thoughts before bed. They tend to have better relationships, as their gratitude can make their partners happier too.
Many emotions and personality traits are important for well-being. But gratitude might be especially important. One study showed that grateful people handled big life changes better. They were less stressed and depressed, and more satisfied with their relationships months later. Other studies suggest that gratitude can explain parts of well-being that other personality traits cannot.
Gratitude also helps your physical health. For example, in one study, teenagers who wrote thank-you letters for a month ate healthier food. When people feel grateful, they might feel a desire to take care of themselves. This is because they appreciate the efforts others have made for them. Also, gratitude brings positive feelings that make you think about good things in the future. This makes you more likely to do things that help your future, like eating healthy.
People who show gratitude also tend to have better overall health. They are more physically active, sleep better, visit doctors less often, and have better nutrition. Practicing gratitude might even slightly improve heart health.
Gratitude and Helping Others
Gratitude can make people more likely to help others. One study found that grateful people are more generous with money. They were more willing to share money in a game. They were also more likely to give up some personal gain for the good of the group. Another study found that gratitude leads to more empathy, generosity, and helpfulness, even towards strangers. This creates a cycle of kindness that benefits everyone.
Gratitude as a Motivator
Gratitude can also encourage people to be kind in the future. For example, one experiment found that customers of a jewelry store who received a thank-you call bought 70% more later. Customers who were told about a sale only bought 30% more. And customers who weren't called at all didn't buy more. In another study, restaurant customers gave bigger tips when servers wrote "Thank you" on their checks.
Ways to Practice Gratitude
Scientists have developed several ways to help people feel more grateful.
One way is to think about someone you are grateful for. You can write about them or even write a letter to them. People who did these exercises felt more positive emotions right away.
Another study looked at different ways to improve people's happiness. The biggest short-term boost came from a "gratitude visit." Participants wrote and delivered a thank-you letter to someone important in their lives. This made their happiness scores go up by 10% and their depression scores go down a lot. These good feelings lasted for up to a month!
The longest-lasting effects came from writing a "gratitude journal." Participants wrote down three things they were grateful for every day. Their happiness scores kept going up over time. Many people liked this exercise so much that they kept writing in their journals long after the study ended.
Gratitude and Mental Health
A study on mental health counseling divided about 300 college students into three groups. The first group wrote one thank-you letter a week for three weeks. The second group wrote about their negative experiences. The third group only received counseling. The group that wrote thank-you letters reported better mental health after their writing exercises. This suggests that practicing gratitude might help your brain become more sensitive to feeling grateful in the future. This can improve your mental health.
Conclusion
Many studies show that gratitude makes people happier and improves their well-being. It helps not only the person feeling grateful but also those around them. Because of these findings, many programs now include exercises to help people feel more grateful. This helps everyone live a more positive and fulfilling life.
See also
In Spanish: Gratitud para niños
- Praise
- Universal value
- Gratitude journal
- Gratitude trap
