One day, everything was normal. The next, our lives were flipped upside down.
Within days, we started to crave normalcy: a life with in-person school, work and social gatherings, a life where medical face masks are only worn by doctors, a life without the constant fear of contracting a deadly disease.
I find it funny that all my peers and I would have killed for an elongated Spring Recess but started our first virtual class with complaints about the quarantine lifestyle.
We are constantly reminded of the importance of being grateful — construction paper turkeys for Thanksgiving, slogans adorning doormats, our parents’ reminders in response to childhood complaints — so much so it runs the risk of becoming a cliché.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdown infused new meaning in the word “gratitude.”
Instead of referring to traditional luxuries, “gratitude” now refers to savoring everyday experiences, things we would never imagine being taken away from us. We took these things for granted and might even have complained about some, such as slow traffic on our daily commutes.
“14 Ways We’re Finding Joy (in Spite of Everything),” is an interactive article by The New York Times that features 14 ordinary individuals’ newfound, simple pleasures, such as jogging slowly, perfecting selfies, observing strangers and caring for others.
Grateful thinking was more than just a response to the changes we underwent — it was a coping mechanism in these times of societal and internal turbulence.
So, why is gratitude so important?
From activating our brain’s reward pathway to minimizing physical ailments to fostering qualities such as resiliency and empathy, practicing grateful thinking has incredible benefits for our happiness and overall well-being.
In terms of health, people who regularly “count their blessings” experience fewer headaches, less stomach pain, reduced congestion, clearer skin and better quality sleep.
Such can be explained by the idea that grateful people are more inclined to value their health and are thus more willing to take the necessary action steps to protect it. People who keep daily gratitude logs, for instance, spend an additional one-and-a-half hours per week exercising on average.
The maintenance of physical health is more important than ever during a global pandemic.
From unemployment anxieties to coping with hundreds of thousands of casualties, this past year was a time of unprecedented stress and trauma. Grateful thinking equips you to positively perceive negative experiences and limit the likelihood of traumatic memories resurfacing.
Being grateful is also an instinctive response. Following the terrorist attacks on 9/11, gratitude was among the most commonly experienced emotions, according to a survey of students and recent graduates from the University of Michigan.
These effects are not limited to ourselves.
In “Counting Blessings Versus Burdens: An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Daily Life,” researchers Robert Emmons and Michael McCullough explored the effects of gratitude on one’s well-being.
As opposed to the participants who were instructed to list daily hassles or life events, the group who listed daily items of gratitude rated their lives more favorably in their self-reported surveys.
In a follow-up study, Emmons and McCullough found that people who kept a gratitude journal for two weeks were more likely to display prosocial behaviors by helping or extending emotional support to someone.
There are many ways to practice gratitude: conducting service, writing thank-you letters, standing in solidarity for essential workers or keeping a daily gratitude journal. Whatever method you prefer, make sure that you are sincerely feeling grateful.
It is sad to think gratitude for normalcy was only ignited when everything was taken away from us. Now that normalcy is on the horizon, we must continue to value the good, bad and ugly that color everyday life.
