Gratitude

One Sunday in Relief Society, a young woman made a comment that went something (not exactly) like this:

 " How many women do you know when they are complemented on their hair or make-up or outfit say 'oh I just rolled out of bed' or ' I really didn't spend much time on it'? I am guilty of this brush-off. I wish women would just take the complement and say 'Thank You'. I think if women did this, more women would be confident." 

I agree with her. I am guilty of this almost everyday (I made note of it for a week now). Not only did I "brush-off" the complements on my appearance, I pushed aside the complements towards tasks I had completed, character attributes, and time I invested in projects. Maybe if I accepted these complements, I would be more confident about who I am and what I do because I recognized a kind gesture from someone else. Now, if graciously receiving complements contributes to my emotional health, wouldn't it make sense that honestly complementing others would have the same if not a greater affect? On a broader spectrum, wouldn't it make sense to express more gratitude to attain more confidence?

There are more benefits than just confidence when you make an effort to be grateful. "Two psychologists, Michael McCollough of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis, wrote an article about an experiment they conducted on gratitude and its impact on well-being. The study split several hundred people into three different groups and all of the participants were asked to keep daily diaries. The first group kept a diary of the events that occurred during the day without being told specifically to write about either good or bad things; the second group was told to record their unpleasant experiences; and the last group was instructed to make a daily list of things for which they were grateful. The results of the study indicated that daily gratitude exercises resulted in higher reported levels of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, optimism, and energy. In addition, those in the gratitude group experienced less depression and stress, were more likely to help others, exercised more regularly, and made greater progress toward achieving personal goals"( Marelisa Fabrega, How Gratitude Can Change Your Life)(emphasis added). 

There was a difference between the people who did nothing and the people who made a list of things they were grateful for. They took action! Gratitude is not a noun, but a verb, an action word. Modern day prophets and apostles have advised us to keep "gratitude journals." This can be as simple as writing a list of things you are grateful for in that little notebook you bought that you don't know what to do with because it is so little.  Try saying a prayer in which all you talk about things you are grateful for and why. I like to make thank you notes or letters. These things can take some time. One of the easiest ways to show gratitude is to simply say thank you when the occasion arises. When you say thank you, it gives the recipient an opportunity to accept it and feel  confident as I mentioned at the beginning. Your kind gesture, your action, could brighten someone's day as you help them feel important, needed, and happy.