Full Hearts: A Thanksgiving Gratitude Activity

Thanksgiving is a time to express gratitude, as family and friends gather together to celebrate and reflect on the blessings of the year. It’s a day filled with shared moments of joy, where people come together to enjoy delicious meals, create lasting memories, and appreciate the love and support of those closest to them. Whether through heartfelt conversations, laughter, or simply spending time in each other's company, Thanksgiving offers a chance to pause and acknowledge the many things we are thankful for, strengthening bonds and fostering a spirit of appreciation and togetherness. 

Gratitude is a great way to lighten up spirits during the holidays, but it is also an excellent way to improve mental health throughout the whole year. It is known to enhance well-being by fostering positive emotion, enriching relationships, encouraging mindfulness, fostering a sense of meaning, and supporting a positive outlook on one's accomplishments. A study by Emmons and McCullough found that people who kept a weekly gratitude journal reported a 25% increase in overall happiness compared to those who recorded neutral or negative events. This aligns with the PERMA model, as gratitude enhances both positive emotions and social connections which you can read more of in our series, Psychology of Happiness. 

This Thanksgiving try a quick Gratitude activity to foster positive thinking in your home.

Materials: 

• Pen 

• Paper

  
  

Instructions: 

1. Hand out pen and paper to each guest. 

2. Ask each of your guests to reflect on their day or week and identify three things that went well. Have them write down what happened and why it went well. For example, “I had a great conversation with my mother because I made time to call her.” 

3. Open the activity for discussion and allow people to share one or more of your “good things”. Some questions to stimulate discussion are “How did this make you feel? And, did you find any new sources of gratitude or positivity?” 

4. You can suggest repeating this exercise daily for a week to solidify the habit of recognizing positive events. 

5. You can also supply markers or stickers to decorate the paper as a fun closing activity. 

This holiday season is a great time to start a new family tradition and create a positive habit for yourself. Gratitude exercises are easy to set up and people of any age can participate. 

For personal use this simple activity can be added to your morning or nightly routine, but how can such an easy activity make you happier? Well, negative biases are common, especially in people with anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. Individuals tend to focus disproportionately on stressors. Gratitude journals train the brain to notice and focus on positive experiences, counteracting the automatic tendency to dwell on negativity. This process, known as cognitive reframing, shifts one’s perspective toward a more balanced and optimistic outlook. 

So, this Thanksgiving, express gratitude and enjoy the holiday. But, continue the act of giving thanks throughout the year and watch as you begin to notice more positive events and feel yourself become happier. 

References: 

Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). "Counting blessings versus burdens: An 

experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377-389.