It was just six months ago that I awoke to a powerful purpose: to share the transformational power of gratitude. More than that, I awoke one morning knowing that, of all the transformational modalities I’d studied along the path to becoming a coach, and of all the life experience I could apply in serving clients, gratitude was — by far — the most powerful and important. And I woke with an 8-part training framework that I immediately wrote down, and which is the basis of my new gratitudeU program.
It was only after this awakening that I began buying books and seeking out research to support what I already knew: gratitude is powerful! And among my secondary research, it soon became clear that perhaps the foremost authority on the science of gratitude is Dr. Robert Emmons of University of California Davis.
So I was thrilled to learn Dr. Emmons would be presenting on “The Science and Spirit of Gratefulness” at Integration Symposium 2022, an event presented by Fuller Theological Seminary. For the purpose of my own work, which is not grounded in a particular faith, I’m focusing on highlights from day one: a summary of research and research findings.
Here were some of my favorite takeaways:
Gratitude has many definitions, and may most often be described as “(1) an affirmation of the good and (2) recognition that this good originates outside the self.” Emmons also described it as “the deepest touch point of human existence” and even “the most passionate transformative force in the cosmos,” a description I can get behind based on my own experience.
More than 300 studies across survey and neuroscience have been conducted on gratitude and published in scientific or medical journals over the past decade — more than in the previous 70 years all together.
Gratefulness increases emotional wellbeing and grateful people:
- achieve more
- pay it forward
- are less depressed
- are more resilient
In addition, gratitude has important and measurable physical health benefits. Grateful people:
- get 15 – 18% better sleep
- consume 30% less saturated fat
- demonstrate 50% greater medical adherence
- walk 2x more steps per day (in cardiac patients)
If you’d like to learn more about the many powerful ways gratitude changed my life, please feel free to reach out.
(c) Angela Rae Bushman 2022, all rights reserved
Angela Rae Bushman 