Much to be grateful for in our world of uncertainties
I’M not one for always looking on the bright side of life. The glass is usually half empty, the worst always assumed.
Nights are spent staring at the ceiling worrying about matters beyond the control of any normal person during waking hours, less one lying in bed at midnight.
Managing this pessimism has been OK so far.
But in a time of uncertainty; when things seem to be at their bleakest – when we know they’re going to get bleaker – we all need to be able to cope.
We may be powerless as individuals to stop a dictator from using sarin gas to kill innocent people; or a megalomaniacal US president in his war-mongering tracks; or the country heading into the lonely post-EU abyss – but we are not powerless to change things for ourselves.
So how to cope with all this, apart from that cathartic, angry shout at the telly when Donald Trump appears?
Well apparently, the simple act of writing things that were good in your day as you go to bed might not only make you feel better about yourself and the world you inhabit – it might even extend your life.
It’s a thing called a gratitude journal, I’ve yet to try it – but am being tempted as the anxiety levels increase.
It works like this: you usually go to bed grumbling about your day, with nothing remotely good to say of anything that’s happened or anyone you’ve encountered. Your judgement is clouded by a fug of negativity.
But actually, good stuff happens and even if it’s only a little thing, writing it down in a special journal can make you reassess your day.
Studies in the US have found that this technique has had a positive impact on the lives of people with genuine battles every day.
Patients with HIV, Aids, cancer and type 2 diabetes have been involved in studies where they have been encouraged to track the positive events in their days and it seems to have helped improve their quality of life.
The New York Times reported how one participant felt the positive effects of keeping a gratitude journal.
Gregg De Meza, an architect in San Francisco, has HIV. He told the paper learning positivity skills has turned his life around.
“When I entered the study, I felt like my entire world was completely unravelling,” he said.
“The training reminded me to rely on my social network, and I decided to be honest with my friends. I realized that to show your real strength is to show your weakness.
“No pun intended, it made me more positive, more compassionate, and I’m now healthier than I’ve ever been.”
Scientists are finding that keeping positive can keep you alive longer – and keep you happier when you are alive.
That’s not to say we should walk around with unbridled optimism about our situations, but it’s realising that there are reasons to be happy with your lot, though you might not know it yet.
Robert Emmons, a professor of psychology at the University of California, has studied the gratitude journal-keepers.
He found that not only did people feel better about themselves as a result, but their lives showed tangible signs of improvement.
Prof Emmons writes: “A related benefit was observed in the realm of personal goal attainment: Participants who kept gratitude lists were more likely to have made progress toward important personal goals (academic, interpersonal and health-based) over a two-month period compared to subjects in the other experimental conditions.”
That’s not the only good thing to come of them – people felt more alert, more determined and more energetic when keeping such journals. And they were more likely to help others.
At the end of a long, stressful day, when the world appears on the brink of self-destruction, it can difficult to feel positive.
But focusing on the people and things in a day that we have to be grateful for, may be the best way we can all cope with this era of unpredictability.