Comments on: Gratitude Enhanced by Focusing on End of Pleasurable Experience

By: creativedifference

creativedifference — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 11:59:00 +0000

Interesting step beyond the idea of just being grateful, and listing gratitude. The idea of expecting change and being grateful for things which are bound to be ephemeral is a good balance to our tendency to avoid unpleasant thoughts, or the contemplation of death, ending etc.

By: Janet

Janet — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 14:16:00 +0000

Oh I agree 100% with that.
Being grateful is a large part of happiness.

It is very important to be grateful even to manifest more happiness in your life. You get what you think about and if you think about all the things you are grateful for you attract more of those things that make you happy into your life :)

Interesting study by the way.

http://www.masteringthemonkey.com

By: Rashin D'Angelo

Rashin D'Angelo — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 13:39:00 +0000

Interesting study..thanks for sharing it with us. It made me think how this has been true in my life. I think part of the issue is that in our society, we're taught from a young age to be goal oriented and focus on the finish line. But it's also important to stop and think about the journey and give gratitude to the people and environment that is helping us get to the finish line.

By: solomonjbroad

solomonjbroad — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 12:36:00 +0000

I've been focusing on gratitude for the past couple of years now, and I tend to disagree that focusing on the end of gratitude is a good idea. It certainly can make one think more deeply about the given situation, based on the idea that if it's going to be gone soon, it's best to gorge oneself as much as possible. However, if you're thinking that there's only so much time, then i feel that it's liable to distract one from what is going on "in the now".

By: cannonballjones

cannonballjones — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 22:15:00 +0000

Well the study certainly fits in with my own experiences. For the past few years I had been rather miserable and I know I was taking a lot of important things for granted, assuming life would always be that way. Some major upheavals happened and since then I've re-evaluated pretty much everything in my life. The realisation that most situations are transient encourages you to feel gratitude for what you have when you have it and this in turn has had a huge effect on my state of mind. I'm much happier despite having lost a great deal, it's an amazing turn around and I've been observing it happening to myself with no small amount of fascination.

By: The Reluctant Aquarian

The Reluctant Aquarian — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 20:39:00 +0000

Thanks for sharing this study! My New Year's "anti-resolution" was to just be. One of the things I want to be is grateful. It's great to see that cultivating gratitude really makes a difference for people.

By: cc

cc — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:33:00 +0000

Somewhat tangentially I must agree that the savoring of short-term experiences can be very beneficial. I'm enjoying my biscotti more now that I only eat one instead of four. Another amazing benefit of portion control.

By: Jeremy (PsyBlog author)

Jeremy (PsyBlog author) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:28:00 +0000

Candy, I mention some more dramatic examples above, but the technique can just as easily be applied to eating an ice cream or enjoying a Sunday afternoon walk. The idea is that thinking about how an experience is time-limited helps one be more grateful for the experience.

As you rightly point out though, this is the first study of its type and so we have to be careful about extrapolating, especially to specific populations such as the depressed or anxious.

By: cc

cc — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:04:00 +0000

To extrapolate about thinking about death, particularly for someone who is already anxious or depressed, based on a study done on college students looking at a six-week timeframe is ridiculous. I don't need to, want to, or benefit from contemplating when the things for which I am grateful will end. I do benefit by recognizing the everyday things I take for granted and appreciating them. And sometimes I do this by thinking of people on the street or third world countries, but I don't dwell on those negative things I can't fix.