Robert Emmons (1)Besprekingen

A very readable summary of various research findings about the practice of gratitude and how it can tremendously influence your life, happiness, and even longevity.

A very readable summary of various research findings about the practice of gratitude and how it can tremendously influence your life, happiness, and even longevity.

This is not just sweetness and light, it has real science to back up its claims that living in gratitude can change your life. He also presents practices to help you grow in your thinking. I am very grateful to have found this book. I will look for more like it to keep me on track.

I wouldn't say Thanks! is particularly deep or insightful and it doesn't cover the 'scientific' aspect of gratitude and how it affects humanity etc. It uses a lot of the anecdotes, which I'm not fond of, though for a book on so subjective a subject there's little else to do.

As a Christian, I find it odd to say this, but for the kind of book this is, I was surprised by the emphasis on Christianity-related gratitude a little disconcerting--perhaps because it purported to be a scientific analysis. That's something I can see turning off a lot of readers.

The advice chapter, the last, could be useful to many, if it's followed. Again, not original or deep, but no bad either, and Emmons is a clear writer and easy to follow.

Emmons serepititiously began to study gratitude during a conference on the classical sources of human strength: wisdom, hope, love, spirituality, gratitude, humility; he signed up for humility but was assigned gratitude. Emmons was surprised to find that by practicing gratitude, people can increase their happiness. Apparently, the brain can not experience both negative and positive emotions at the same time. Emmons proposes ten ways for adults to practice gratitude: keeping a gratitude journal; remembering the bad parts of the past and being grateful for getting through those times; asking three questions ("What have I received from ___?" "What have I given to ___?" and "What troubles and difficulties have I caused ___?"); learning prayers of gratitude; "coming to your senses"; using visual reminders to be grateful; making a vow to practice gratitude; using the language of gratefulness; going through the motions; and thinking outside the box for things for which to be grateful. He also calls for gratitude training in childhood, in order to develop a tool that will foster well-being.