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This Is the Best Way to Practice Gratitude This Thanksgiving (and Any Day), Science Says
With the season for giving thanks upon us, it’s a good time of year to remind ourselves of the stack of studies showing that consciously counting your blessings will not only make you happier, it will also physically rewire your brain so that it’s permanently easier to notice and enjoy the good things in life.
But recognizing the amazing ability of gratitude to support mental health begs the question: What sort of gratitude practice is best? Should you go around the table this Thanksgiving and list what you’re thankful for? Should you jot down all that’s positive in your day?
These interventions certainly will only do you good, but if you really want to supercharge your gratitude practice this holiday (or any time of the year), science suggests you shouldn’t just give thanks, you should actually go out and say thanks, too.
Saying thanks beats giving thanks.
When scientists want to know whether one medicine works better than another, they give one group of patients the new innovation and another control group the old standby, and then see which group shows the most improvement. It’s a technique that works with gratitude practices, too.
