Last year, I baked biscuits for complete strangers to say "thank you". I'd had to call 999 because I found my husband unconscious on the floor. Within minutes, a police car arrived and soon my husband received medical care in hospital.
A week later, when I dropped off still-warm biscuits and presented a thank-you note at the police station, the policemen thanked me for delivering gifts.
I drove away feeling light and happy. Later, I realized that my natural high might have been more than it seemed. Research has shown that sharing gratitude has positive effects on health. People who express gratitude will increase their happiness levels, lower their blood pressure and get better sleep.
What about people who receive gratitude? Research has confirmed that when people receive thanks, they experience positive emotions. "Those are happy surprises," says Jo-Ann Tsang, a professor of psychology. When someone is thanked, he's more likely to return the favouror pass kindness on, and his chances of being helpful again doubles, probably because he enjoys feeling socially valued.
The give-and-take of gratitude also deepens relationships. Studies show that when your loved ones regularly express gratitude, making you feel appreciated, you're more likely to return appreciative feelings, which leads to more satisfactory in your relationships.
Nowadays, however, many people don't express gratitude. Our modern lifestyle may be to blame. With commercial and social media, everything is speeding the younger generation to feel they're the centre of the world. If it's all about them, why thank others?
Why not thank others? Just take a look at how many positive effects can saying "thank you" have on personal health—and the well-being of others.
If you aren't particularly grateful, I strongly suggest you learn to be. People who are instructed to keep gratitude journals, in which they write down positive things that happen to them, cultivate（培养） gratitude over time.
