Finding Your Gratitude Rhythm

As Spring approaches, it’s easy to be grateful for warmer weather and longer days. This got me thinking about the relationship between gratitude and spiritual growth. On the surface it seems the more thankful you are the greater your spiritual growth will be. Generally this is true. Pushing the point a bit, let’s ask the question, how often should you be intentionally thankful? What level of thankfulness leads to the most spiritual growth?

In 2005, two psychologists Barbara Frederickson and Marcial Losada conducted a study to determine how much positivity is ideal to creating happiness. Published in the American Psychologist, their study established a 3-1 ratio of positive versus negative behavior. If you behave positively three times more than you behave negatively, you reach an optimal level of happiness.

Recently the 3-1 ratio has been questioned, however there is an interesting mini-conclusion made in the study which is often overlooked. Frederickson and Losada also found study participants who participated in a gratitude exercise once a week had bigger gains in well-being than those who participated in a gratitude exercise three times per week. When speculating about the reasons why, Fredrickson suggested counting one’s blessings every day may become monotonous leading to decreased levels of effect.

So what does this have to do with maximizing your spiritual growth? For starters, practicing gratitude is a very important way to increase your spiritual growth. Each of us should practice gratitude on a regular basis. The question is how often? Every day? Three times a week? Once a week? I bet the answer has a lot to do with you and your personality.

Here is what I suggest. Start keeping a gratitude journal. Put it by your bed with a pen. Before you go to bed, practice writing down the things you are grateful to God for. Start recording what you are grateful for every day. Then progress to three times a week. Then try once a week. Find the gratitude rhythm which works best for you. When you find your gratitude rhythm, practice it regularly.