There's a lot of great research on the topic of happiness - it's the field of Positive Psychology
A great "how to" book is: The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want by Sonja Lyubomirsky (a Ph.D. researcher in the field of study) http://thehowofhappiness.com -- this book shares the specific advice you share in your comment.
A lot of great books I can recommend as well, e.g. Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert and The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan Haidt.
Nice idea! I remember in my first month or two of therapy, my therapist basically kept training me to list 3 things to be grateful for, and I was mostly annoyed about how much of the therapy was about that.
But, it turned out to be very effective, and being 'forced' to do my homework paid off. She later explained that she usually starts out with this 'exercise' because most of her clients are not just dealing with their particular issues, but also with those issues festering and affecting their sense of self-worth and day-to-day thinking process. And helping her clients improve in that area generally made it much easier and effective when dealing with the particulars.
I also like that it's 3 rather than "list 10". There's some research on this: when people try 3, it's rather easy to succeed. If they try 10, they might find it hard, and if they run out of "good" things to list before finishing, they may erroneously conclude they have it pretty bad.
Psychology is rather funny - good to study it empirically! I'm so thankful there are so many Ph.D. researchers who take it seriously and contribute to the general knowledge by writing books for the general public.
Research shows that if you list at least three things you’re grateful for everyday, you will significantly improve your mental health.
Does it really, or does this line just sound good? If you're going to make a claim like this, you should probably link to peer-reviewed research that backs this up.
Even peer reviewed research won't make me believe claims like that. Experimental psychology seems a field plagued by replicability crisis, and frankly I think the field is just a self perpetuating paper mill for those in it, and a futile pursuit.
Psychology in my view needs a theoritical approach. Did Freud, William James etc need to do experiments with 30 graduate students to study about the working of the mind, and behaviour of people?.
I am a bit skeptic when it comes to these things. But, I have been doing a 1 min "prayer" every day while taking a shower in the morning. I remind myself how well I am off compared to many people and what a great family I have etc. It has really helped me to start the day with a calmer mind.
Social scientists have focused on gratitude since the 1930s (Baumgarten-Tramer, 1938; Bergler, 1945, 1950; Gouldner, 1960; Heider, 1958; Schwartz, 1967; Simmel, 1950). Though it has been considered fundamental to the maintenance of reciprocity obligations between people (Gouldner, 1960; Simmel, 1950) and evolutionarily adaptive for its promotion of altruistic behavior (Trivers, 1971), the bulk of empirical research occurred over the past dozen years because psychological research was long dominated by a focus on pathology rather than flourishing (Seligman & Csik- szentmihalyi, 2000). Two classic studies—showing that expressing and experiencing gratitude bring peace of mind, satisfying personal relationships, and well-being (Emmons & McCullough, 2003; McCullough et al., 2002)—catalyzed the field, and since then a girth of research on gratitude and its applications have emerged.
This is anecdata but I know a lot of people that AA has worked for (tens of years of sobriety) attribute a portion of their success and sanity on doing a daily gratitude list.
I've never understood dedicating a whole darn website to such simple concepts. Perhaps that's why I'm not rich.
It's three things! Just write them down somewhere. Heck, put them in a text file and check it into git.
I ran into a similar mindset with someone asking about BMI on another forum I frequent and someone suggested a website. It's two math operations! Just open the calculator on your phone (yes, even flip phones have one), or on the computer you're reading this on.
ETA: For those wondering, here's the three things as I heard them:
1. Something that made you smile or happy:
2. Something you are grateful for:
3. Something you did well:
Thinking about this more... the barrier is big for me because this type of social sharing i dont find value in. for those that do, i suspect that enabling them to share on platforms that are more popular could be useful.
Or, is there value in aggregating things that people say to help those who are struggling to find a reason to be grateful. .. turn that into a weekly trend line. are people more grateful for their health during a pandemic? are people more grateful for their spouse in the summer? that sort of stuff could be interesting.
The real recurring theme is that "I", "me", or "my" ends up appearing a minimum of one time per person and day.
After decades of severe depression, it isn't entirely surprising to me that there must be an "I" to experience positive things in order for gratitude to give a lasting impact to the mood.
"I'm grateful for people who remove landmines, for talented artists creating beauty in the world, for little caring gestures that strangers have for each other." But this reads more abstractly than when there's a person to actually experience its consequences directly, and it feels very different from the inside too as it holds little connection to the self.
It's a good habit nonetheless, because if anything it is a mechanical workout to cultivate a capacity for empathy (for self in healthier people perhaps, but in general otherwise).
Cotton sheets help to remind me. I don't know what people slept on in history (tho I hear that heather was good) but clean sheets and cotton pyjamas are fantastic.
I have used Black Lotus app [0] and on multiple occasions, its novel framework called RARE (Reflect, Act, Reinforce and Evaluate) has helped me come out of the stress/anxiety I'd suddenly found myself trapped into.
There are different kinds of RARE goals depending on what you're going through at the moment (stress/lack of focus/mindfullness/etc) and each has its own duration (typically 21 days), during which you daily perform such activities like guided meditation, a guided breathing exercise, a random act of kindness, reading of some wisdom article/inspiring RAK story and many a times, expressing gratitude.
I've been using The Five Minute Journal [1] (on paper) for a while (definitely not every day) and it has a gratitude component. I do enjoy how it helps prompt me to change my perspective :)
Can I ask how it prompts to change your perspective? I might want to implement that. It’s not clear to me based on the link you gave. Thanks for sharing!
Our family’s religious tradition incorporates this type of communication every evening.
It is a delight as a parent to see how much joy it brings our children when they share with others what they are thankful for. It can be as simple as “blankets” and “blocks”, which I have witnessed and smiled about.
It brings me comfort knowing that our kids will have specifically communicated their gratitude in this way about 5000 times prior to entering high school.
In our area of the world, a large percentage of high school students are on anti-depression medication and the rates continue to rise. I hope this activity is one way to lean against that trend.
This. We pray and give thanks as a family multiple times per day. Not in an empty monotonous prayer but we all chime in things and people that we're thankful for. Simple and genuine.
Been doing this for a couple years now... I still have no idea if it actually makes me happy, but I enjoy the practice of it. I also write three things I accomplished in the day, no matter how large or small.
I do that too! Most of the time my gratitude journal consists of the things I accomplished that day, because I'm grateful I even get things done (I have a disorder). Thanks for sharing!
I the only one who feels worse than before, it like all shit, sometimes life is shit. I'm not Cristian but I feel this frace encapusale my feelings
Mark 9:24"I do believe; help my unbelief!"
Hey neat! I actually made something very similar but as a Chrome extension [1].
The issue I saw with doing this as a web app is there's nothing in a web app to actually force you to do the logging. You have to remember to do it which I didn't like.
Yes that makes sense, my workaround with that was a daily reminder email. I’ll have to test if it works though. Thanks for sharing! Your app seems awesome!
My suggestion is that you gameify this. Add daily challenges, unlock achievements, and compete with others using the app in your area. Crush your friends at staying grateful and you get exclusive skins to download for the app. Really, engagement is the key.
I don’t want to read what other people are grateful for because it just reminds me that the things I’m missing are actually important. A piece of paper and a pen works better.
I think you'd find that a slight shift in perspective on this will do wonders. Try imagining that the person posting is your best friend on a good day. Or your mom. Or your dog. Or anyone/thing else you unconditionally hope receives good things in life. That might turn some of them into boosts to your happiness (I want good things for person x: imagine good things happening to person x = good thing for me).
[+] [-] crystalcamarao|5 years ago|reply
Do you want to become better at being grateful?
I built a simple site where you can list 3 things you’re grateful for that day.
Research shows that being grateful makes you happier and healthier. I want to help people be more grateful, especially people who are depressed.
I’d appreciate your comments.
Thanks!
[+] [-] yboris|5 years ago|reply
A great "how to" book is: The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want by Sonja Lyubomirsky (a Ph.D. researcher in the field of study) http://thehowofhappiness.com -- this book shares the specific advice you share in your comment.
A lot of great books I can recommend as well, e.g. Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert and The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom by Jonathan Haidt.
[+] [-] mercer|5 years ago|reply
But, it turned out to be very effective, and being 'forced' to do my homework paid off. She later explained that she usually starts out with this 'exercise' because most of her clients are not just dealing with their particular issues, but also with those issues festering and affecting their sense of self-worth and day-to-day thinking process. And helping her clients improve in that area generally made it much easier and effective when dealing with the particulars.
[+] [-] yboris|5 years ago|reply
Psychology is rather funny - good to study it empirically! I'm so thankful there are so many Ph.D. researchers who take it seriously and contribute to the general knowledge by writing books for the general public.
[+] [-] danaliv|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ducharmdev|5 years ago|reply
Beyond that, really fun idea. It makes me happy to see an app idea with a more humanistic goal.
[+] [-] king_magic|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] floverfelt|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] billfruit|5 years ago|reply
Psychology in my view needs a theoritical approach. Did Freud, William James etc need to do experiments with 30 graduate students to study about the working of the mind, and behaviour of people?.
[+] [-] wunderflix|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] webmobdev|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kilroy123|5 years ago|reply
I do this every morning when I wake up and have for a good year or so.
I honestly don't notice much of a difference.
[+] [-] spaceprison|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] gkilmain|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dhumph|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] npsimons|5 years ago|reply
It's three things! Just write them down somewhere. Heck, put them in a text file and check it into git.
I ran into a similar mindset with someone asking about BMI on another forum I frequent and someone suggested a website. It's two math operations! Just open the calculator on your phone (yes, even flip phones have one), or on the computer you're reading this on.
ETA: For those wondering, here's the three things as I heard them:
[+] [-] dhumph|5 years ago|reply
Or, is there value in aggregating things that people say to help those who are struggling to find a reason to be grateful. .. turn that into a weekly trend line. are people more grateful for their health during a pandemic? are people more grateful for their spouse in the summer? that sort of stuff could be interesting.
[+] [-] crystalcamarao|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] micdr0p|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] tppiotrowski|5 years ago|reply
Definitely something I take for granted. It’s good to be reminded each day is a gift.
[+] [-] cmehdy|5 years ago|reply
After decades of severe depression, it isn't entirely surprising to me that there must be an "I" to experience positive things in order for gratitude to give a lasting impact to the mood.
"I'm grateful for people who remove landmines, for talented artists creating beauty in the world, for little caring gestures that strangers have for each other." But this reads more abstractly than when there's a person to actually experience its consequences directly, and it feels very different from the inside too as it holds little connection to the self.
It's a good habit nonetheless, because if anything it is a mechanical workout to cultivate a capacity for empathy (for self in healthier people perhaps, but in general otherwise).
[+] [-] pitspotter|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] TriNetra|5 years ago|reply
There are different kinds of RARE goals depending on what you're going through at the moment (stress/lack of focus/mindfullness/etc) and each has its own duration (typically 21 days), during which you daily perform such activities like guided meditation, a guided breathing exercise, a random act of kindness, reading of some wisdom article/inspiring RAK story and many a times, expressing gratitude.
0: https://www.blacklotus.app/
[+] [-] crystalcamarao|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] carols10cents|5 years ago|reply
[1] - https://www.intelligentchange.com/products/the-five-minute-j...
[+] [-] crystalcamarao|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mensetmanusman|5 years ago|reply
It is a delight as a parent to see how much joy it brings our children when they share with others what they are thankful for. It can be as simple as “blankets” and “blocks”, which I have witnessed and smiled about.
It brings me comfort knowing that our kids will have specifically communicated their gratitude in this way about 5000 times prior to entering high school.
In our area of the world, a large percentage of high school students are on anti-depression medication and the rates continue to rise. I hope this activity is one way to lean against that trend.
[+] [-] sarabad2021|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] crystalcamarao|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] KerryJones|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] crystalcamarao|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] Mrnothing_|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] crystalcamarao|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] floverfelt|5 years ago|reply
The issue I saw with doing this as a web app is there's nothing in a web app to actually force you to do the logging. You have to remember to do it which I didn't like.
[1] https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/three-gratitudes/p...
[+] [-] crystalcamarao|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] haram_masala|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] crystalcamarao|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] mncharity|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] crystalcamarao|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] DC1350|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] plauribre|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] talmr|5 years ago|reply
Don’t doomscroll through their gratitudes if that’s distracting for you, and if pen and paper works better for you then that’s amazing!
Goal is to just be grateful :)
[+] [-] crystalcamarao|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] StacyC|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] crystalcamarao|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] thirtythree|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] crystalcamarao|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] maxrev17|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] crystalcamarao|5 years ago|reply
[+] [-] JFKKFJ|5 years ago|reply
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