Nicole Hollar walks through a 2003 study showing that keeping a gratitude journal boosted happiness by 25% and improved sleep quality over 10 weeks. She's kept one for over a decade and challenges you to write daily for 30 days, even small things like birdsong, to shift focus from what you lack.
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Welcome to the Own It Podcast with me, Nicole Hollar, where we're going to talk about stuff to help you get out of your way, take charge of your life, and, well, other stuff too. Hey guys, welcome to another episode of the Own It Podcast. Today I want to talk about a study done in 2003 by Emmons and McCullough. It was actually reported in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Now what this study was, it was about Gratitude, and if you're somebody who lives a life of gratitude, that's amazing. If you are that person, you, much like myself, who does live a pretty grateful life, probably has crappy days. We probably had shitty things happen to us. We probably had our own mini existential crises. I know I have because guess what? We're all human. Now, if you're listening to this and you're like, "No, I don't live that way." I mostly see the weeds in the grass. Well, that's tough because gratitude is really about making a conscious choice to focus on what we have rather than what we lack. And in this study, what it did was it actually showed that gratitude can enhance somebody's psychological wellbeing. It can lead to better relationships and connection, and it also improves physical health. So in 2003, they did this study. There were 300 participants over 10 weeks, And what they did is they took 100 participants and they said, listen, I want you to take note of something you're grateful for every day. They took another 100 participants and said, I want you to write down the daily struggles and hassles that you have every day, something simple. And they took the other third or 100 and said, just write something neutral. So after 10 weeks, what they found was the group who kept a gratitude journal reported 25% more happiness. Wow. They also reported feeling more optimistic about their future. They had better sleep quality. They engaged in more pro-social activities like doing things together, being complimentary of each other, being more supportive in relationships. So these are all of the benefits that the group who kept the gratitude journal had. Now, I don't know about you, but I have kept a gratitude journal and I started it The first time, maybe 10, 15 years ago, I was in this really particularly blah place in my life. And a friend of mine said, well, you know, maybe you wanna keep a gratitude journal. I was like, all right, sure. So what I did at the time, I had posted it on social media every day. And the reason I did that was because I wanted to put it out there. I wanted to put this positive energy out there. And let me tell you what happened was I would get messages back going, thank you so much. I really like to look and see what you're grateful for today. It's really lifted me. And what that did was actually fuel me because again, Going back to it helped create better relationships with people and being more optimistic. It was bringing back to me the energy which I wanted, which was that of gratitude. If it's something you've never done before, something to consider is that it doesn't have to be about you. You don't have to have something profound. For me, it was like, I love the sound of birds chirping in the morning because I really do. I love getting up and getting to work before the sun rises. It's like my secret time of day. I might enjoy the sound of rain on the roof. I might have been thrilled for a friend who had success and accomplishment. Gratitude doesn't only have to be about you. It's about seeing something positive and making a conscious choice in order to see that positive in the world. Because if the positive exists in the world, it means it can also exist for you. So what I'd like to do is give you the challenge of keeping a 30-day gratitude journal. Again, It doesn't have to be profound. And if you want to really, you know, level up, go ahead and post it somewhere social, because all that's going to do is put out positive energy. Share it with a friend, a family member, your partner, your kid, your parent, whoever it might be in your life. Maybe it's even your dog. Just putting it out there into the world and saying, this is what I'm grateful for today. Because there are always things that we can lack in the world. That's clear and obvious. And, you know, just like meditation, we get to choose what we want to focus on. When I have worked with people doing meditations, I'm like, look, when that shopping list crossed through your mind, you have the choice to just let it keep going. You can jump on it and start adding things to it and letting it amplify. So what we focus on amplifies. If you want to have a more happy life, a life where you feel more connected, a life where you feel more enrichment, then you're going to want to focus on the things that bring that. If you are making the conscious choice to focus on what you lack or the things that haven't been great, then you are making a conscious choice to make that amplify. And what I'd like you to also remember is this: you are very capable. We all go through bad periods. You're going to have to ask yourself, is this me having a self-confidence or a self-worth issue? Am I having a thing with a friend, but my friend doesn't really know it? It's just what I'm feeling because maybe I'm having my own value issue. Am I feeling lack in Maybe my job or because I don't have X, Y, and Z. Well, what can I do about it? How can I improve it? Other people are doing better than me. Well, what is it they're doing? What resources do they have? That's a way to sort of flip the script so that you can go, listen, here's where I am and what can I do so that I can amplify all the positive things in my life? It's okay to see the things we lack. But only if you're going to see them as an example and go, well, what can I do to get out of this space? Rather than allowing them to suck you in, because that just doesn't feel good. So I'm going to leave you today with a 30-day challenge to keep a gratitude journal, really focusing on the good quality positive things in your life, and try to spread them out. There's probably something everywhere. You just have to make the decision to look for it. I want you guys to remember, as always, this is your time, and you can follow me on most social media platforms at Nicole Hollar Coaching. Have a great day.
