Gratitude = Happiness

As teachers and school leaders, there are days when finding something to be grateful about is the furthest thought from our mind. But there is plenty of evidence that consistently practicing the art of expressing gratitude contributes to a very big outcome:  Happiness.

Boston College student Josh Coyne recently conducted a thesis experiment with 30 college classmates. He wanted to see what effect gratitude has on stress levels, self-love, and happiness. Here is his amazing video summarizing the results.

Forward thinking schools are finding time for students and teachers to explore learning around the concepts of gratefulness and happiness. Meditation and mindfulness are two rapidly growing manifestations that focus on reducing stress and opening mental pathways to a calmer life and better self-awareness for students and teachers.

As a principal, my tangible actions of gratefulness included personal, handwritten notes to faculty along with a small bouquet of flowers. And just the two words, ‘Thank You’, can have a powerful, positive impact on the recipient.

Gratitude is highly contagious. Pass it on.