9. Amplification of Gratitude

The Amplification of Gratitude.

Having read most of the book ‘Gratitude in Education’ and spending some time implementing gratitude practices, it is time to synthesise the information gained in critical reflection.

When initially presented with the notion of gratitude, the first reaction was to focus on the gratitude within. Having spent the past few years making the effort to view my life in a positive manner, this was quite easy to achieve.

When presented with Howells’ definition of gratitude,

Gratitude goes beyond an emotion or thought to be something that is actualised in one’s daily life through the heartfelt active practice of giving thanks. Gratitude is usually expressed towards someone or something. It also has an inner attitude that can be understood as he opposite of resentment or complaint. (Howells, 2012)

the challenge was in the giving of thanks. It was relatively easy to think positive and have grateful thoughts but the realisation that gratitude is in the acknowledgement of the thought, specifically expressed to someone, was more difficult to implement.

In his TEDx talk, ‘365 Days of Thank You’, Brian Doyle talks about how difficult it was for him to thank his father. In fact, he indicated that it was easier to tell his father that he was gay than it was to thank him for being a great dad. (Doyle, 2013). Like Doyle, I found it difficult to express gratitude to people or I would just forget to verbalise it. Sometimes it was because I would take things for granted or I would think grateful thoughts but not express them. I was reminded of my relationship with my partner. When we were first together, he would bring me a cup of tea in bed each morning and I would verbally thank him profusely. Over time, the thank you became a grunt, now I say nothing except if he forgets and then I complain "Where is my cup of tea?"

The ‘Bad Is Stronger Than Good’ article by Baumeister et al. was poignant in the expression of its paradigm. However, the final sentence, "Even though a bad event may have a stronger impact than a comparable good event, many lives can be happy by virtue of having far more good than bad events" (Baumeister, Bratslavsky, Finkenauer, & Vohls, 2011) supports Howell’s notion of amplifying good over bad through the practice of gratitude. (Howells, 2016). It was also interesting to note that Howell’s presented another explanation of gratitude which was

"giving back out of acknowledgement for what we receive in ways that are not necessarily reciprocal." (2016)

The introduction of the ‘Amplification of Gratitude’ gave me cause to review my practices and make a conscientious effort to express my gratitude. I began implementing my gratitude practices at work and at home. It took a bit of effort and I have to keep reminding myself.

I, like many of the other students commenting in the book club, have grappled with the sincerity of the expression of gratitude, but if society is to amplify good over bad through the use of gratitude, I wonder if sincerity is the issue. People will often proffer negative thoughts without sincerity – most comedians make their living from this. By continually acknowledging gratitude people are "celebrating the good." (Howells, 2016)

Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Finkenauer, C., & Vohls, K. d. (2011). Bad is Stronger than Good. Review of General Psychology, 5(4), 323-370.

Doyle, B. (2013). 365 Days of Thank You. TEDx Youth . SanDiego.

Howells, K. (2012). Gratitude in Education a Radical View. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense .

Howells, K. (2016, November 4th). Why Gratitude Part 2. ESM704. Tasmania.