Happiness Break: 5 Minutes of Gratitude, with Dacher Keltner
Not sure how to start practicing gratitude? Psychologist Dacher Keltner guides you through a practice that can help you see the good things in your life that you might otherwise overlook.
\n\nLink to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/yc7bvkpr
\n\n\n\n
How to Do This Practice:
\n\n- \n
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\u2019re feeling in this moment. Let worries and plans clear from your mind.
\nStart 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.
\nLet 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\xa0us so much meaning, and so on.
\nThink 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.
\nTake a moment to think about what you\u2019re really grateful for today, right now.
\nNotice how you\u2019re 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.
\nIf you have the time, spend a few minutes journaling about what you thought about.
\n
\n\n
Today\u2019s Happiness Break host:
\n\nDacher Keltner is the host of The Science of Happiness podcast and is a co-instructor of the Greater Good Science Center\u2019s popular online course of the same name. He's also a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.
\n\nThis 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/
\n\n\n\n
More resources from The Greater Good Science Center:
\n\nTry GGSC\u2019s online Gratitude Journal, Thnx4: https://tinyurl.com/2s4e4bx6
\n\nTake our Gratitude Quiz: https://tinyurl.com/yhbz6cwv
\n\nFour Great Gratitude Strategies: https://tinyurl.com/2muyff64
\n\nIs Gratitude Good for You?: https://tinyurl.com/ycknm2ru
\n\nThree Surprising Ways Gratitude Works at Work: https://tinyurl.com/yc2c8y4n
\n\nHow Gratitude Motivates Us to Become Better People: https://tinyurl.com/5n6ejpdy
\n\n\n\n
We love hearing from you! Tell us about your experience with practicing gratitude. Email us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.
\n\nFind us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
\n\nHelp us share Happiness Break! Leave us a 5-star review and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap
\n\n\n\n
We're living through a mental health crisis. Between the stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout \u2014 we all could use a break to feel better. That's where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real-time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown in a lab to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more \u2014 what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day.