Happiness Break: 5 Minutes of Gratitude

The Science of Happiness

Psychologist Dacher Keltner guides you through a practice to help you see the good things in your life that you might otherwise overlook.

How to Do This Practice:

1. Sit or lay down somewhere comfortable. You may close your eyes if you wish, and take a slow, deep breath in to ground into the present moment. Then, scan your body from head to toe, noticing how you’re feeling in this moment. Let worries and plans clear from your mind.

2. Start by thinking about all the things that make your life comfortable: Clean water on tap, light at the flip of a switch, a roof over your head to protect you from the weather, warmth, and comfort when it gets windy, rainy, or cold.

3. Let your mind wander to all the millions of people who have worked hard to make your life more comfortable: Those who plant and harvest the food you eat, who bring it to markets, people who ensure the water we drink is clean, delivery drivers, teachers, all the people who create art and music and books and films and all the things that can bring us so much meaning, and so on.

4. Think about the acquaintances who bring richness to your life, like a colleague, neighbor, or someone you often see at the gym or a coffee shop.

5. Take a moment to think about what you’re really grateful for today, right now.

6. Notice how you’re feeling now, compared to when you started, and then start to bring movement back to your body, wiggling fingers and toes, maybe slowly standing up.

7. If you have the time, spend a few minutes journaling about what you thought about.

Today’s Happiness Break host:

Dacher Keltner is the host ofThe Science of Happiness podcast and is a co-instructor of the Greater Good Science Center’s popular online course of the same name. He’s also a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.

This practice was created by Dr. Kathy Kemper, who’s the director of the Center for Integrative Health and Wellness at the Ohio State University. Learn more about some of her work here: https://mind-bodyhealth.osu.edu/

More resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

Try GGSC’s online Gratitude Journal, Thnx4: https://tinyurl.com/2s4e4bx6

Take our Gratitude Quiz: https://tinyurl.com/yhbz6cwv

Four Great Gratitude Strategies: https://tinyurl.com/2muyff64

Is Gratitude Good for You?: https://tinyurl.com/ycknm2ru

Three Surprising Ways Gratitude Works at Work: https://tinyurl.com/yc2c8y4n

We love hearing from you! Tell us about your experience with practicing gratitude. Email us at [email protected] or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

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Transcript: https://tinyurl.com/r6pkw2xx