Is being grateful the key to happiness?

Searching for the key to happiness has been a universal search and pursuit of people for

centuries. Everyone wants to be happy and enjoy life in their personal relationships with family
friends, work, purpose, finances, and overall well-being. People seek a fulfilling and joyful life.
One concept of achieving happiness is having a spirit of gratefulness. Being grateful is to be
thankful, by acknowledging and showing appreciation for the positive aspects of life amid
challenges and external circumstances. Gratitude can shift our focus from what’s lacking to
what’s present.

Finding happiness through gratitude is about fostering an attitude of positivity and
acknowledging the blessings we have, no matter how small they may seem. The bible verse
Psalm 118:24 (NASB 1995) reminds us to be grateful daily “This is the day that the Lord has
made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” This is a message for us to appreciate and rejoice in the
blessing of being alive. Grateful individuals typically have higher levels of contentment and life
satisfaction. Here are a few ways being grateful can increase our levels of happiness.

1. Positive Relationships: Be selective in your relationships and how much time and
effort you engage in them. You must be selective because you become the closest five
people you hang around the most. You will start taking on other people’s character,
personality, and mannerisms, the more you’re around them. A negative bad apple can
ruin the whole batch, so watch your apples carefully.

2. Shift Focus to Positive: Focus on what you have and what’s going right versus the
negative of what’s went wrong, what’s missing, or how you could have done better.“Woulda”, “Coulda”, and “Shoulda” do not belong in your vocabulary. Reflect on past experiences, on moments when you genuinely felt happy. What were you doing? Who were you with? What aspects of those past experiences brought you happiness?

3. Set Reasonable Goals: Set goals that are attainable but not exceedingly too high to reach or that may cause pain and depression because you didn’t achieve them. Unrealistic expectations and goals can set individuals up for disappointment and a sense of failure you will have difficulties in enjoying what you did accomplish. Gratitude teaches us to appreciate our achievements.

4. Practice Gratefulness: Practicing gratefulness reduces our need for comparison to
others and helps improve us mentally and emotionally. It reduces envy and
dissatisfaction with our lives. Focusing on the positive aspects of your life can
counteract negative thoughts, emotions, and reactions. It can contribute to lower
stress levels and can improve the quality of sleep. Being grateful contributes to less
tossing and turning at times because of depression or focusing on disappointments.

5. Embracing Adversity with Faith: The story of Job from the Bible serves as a powerful
example of how gratitude can endure even in the face of immense adversity. Despite
losing everything, Job remained steadfast in his faith and grateful for what he still
had. This resilience in the midst of challenges can inspire us to find strength and
gratitude even in difficult situations.

Cultivating a spirit of gratitude takes practice. It’s changing our mindset to view our lives
differently. It’s a conscious choice to focus on the blessings we have rather than what we lack.
This reminds me of when Jesus focused on what he had to perform a miracle to feed the
multitudes in Matthew 14 despite the disciples’ negativity of “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish” (Matt 14:17 NIV). How often do we miss out on being happy and become depressed or downtrodden because we look at the lack, instead of being overjoyed and grateful for what we do have? Although happiness is multifaceted, gratitude is one key to finding happiness. Embrace gratitude as a path to happiness. Y? Why Not!

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