Harbor Insights - November 2024

Gratitude 

Article by Izzy Arroyo, 9th Grade 

 Hi! When you think of something to be grateful for, do you think of an item or a person? Whatever it is, that aspect of your life is something that has important meaning to you and is something you’d like to appreciate more often. Many people talk about being grateful, but what is gratitude? Gratitude is the emotion you feel when you appreciate the things that others do for you, or just for things you are lucky to have in your life, such as a stable home, food source, and income. You can also be grateful for a person that you have in your life, such as a friend, a parent, a sibling, or a teacher.  

Gratitude is shown through the way you give recognition to the acts of kindness people do for you. You can practice gratitude by sending a gift as a thank you, writing a heartfelt card, returning a favor, or simply saying “thank you.” It’s important to become aware of the things you are grateful for in your life. Gratitude is the quality of being grateful for what and who you have in your life, as well as the return of kindness back into the world through words and actions.  

There are countless ways for you to show gratitude, and it works through an endless cycle, called a kindness cycle. The kindness cycle begins by someone doing something in any form of generosity. This can be buying someone a meaningful gift, helping someone in need, giving someone a kind compliment, or spending quality time with someone. These actions are considered selfless, because they put others’ needs or wants ahead of your own while expecting nothing in return. But truly, putting good out into the world always finds its way back to you. People who are affected by the kindness cycle often have a sense of motivation to do nice things for others. These actions then affect someone else and influence them, and the cycle continues! That is why gratitude is so incredibly important in order to maintain and evolve relationships with the people in our lives. 

Gratitude has such a positive impact on people’s lives. “Scientists studying positive psychology found that a one-time act of thoughtful gratitude produced an immediate 10% increase in happiness and 35% reduction in depressive symptoms. The happy effects disappeared within three to six months which shows that gratitude is an act to be repeated again and again.” (Martin E P Seligman 1, Tracy A Steen, Nansook Park, Christopher Peterson) One of the most positive effects gratitude has on people is helping them focus on what they have, instead of what they lack. It brings attention to the important things you have in your life. The simple act of showing gratitude can increase someone's self-confidence, physical and emotional health, and overall satisfaction with life. We should all learn to show gratitude more often to better our lives and the lives of the people we surround ourselves with.