Thankful Survey: First Results

I am finally ready to share some of the Thankful Survey's first results! The pie chart below breaks down the respondents by age - it's interesting to see because it gives an idea of the blog's audience and I certainly like the generation diversity here:

Now onto the results! The majority of people (93.1%) to have taken the Thankful Survey consider themselves to be thankful people, and it gets proven by the fact that said respondents report thanking people for small acts of kindness in everyday situations: 69.0% admit to always doing so, 26.4% say they thank others often.

1.1% think they’re not thankful enough, which can be both a good and a bad thing depending on whether they want to improve in this department or not, but at least they’re honest!..

More often than not, these thankful people expect to be thanked for the things they do for other people (71.3%). 23.0% rarely expect it and 5.7% don’t expect such gesture at all.

Most (86.2%) are not shy about expressing their gratitude in more personal, non-everyday situations, and whopping 94.3% claim to having said words of appreciation personally to the appreciated people in their lives.

When asked if they thought it was possible to be thankful for something that hasn't happened yet, most (65.5%) imagined such thing to be a possibility and 29.9% said to be unsure. Many shared their thoughts on the subject in the comments, and there are some really good convincing points here:

“ Being thankful for something before it has arrived is how to make sure it gets there! ”

“ I've learnt to thank God for things that haven't happened yet: I know that the things I wish for will happen when he thinks it is time for, and that if they don't, there's surely a good reason for that. ”

“ That's where being hopeful comes into play. I always think the best will happen and when I have a goal in mind, I positively see it as already happening. I am just thankful for the idea, the chance that something positive is going to happen. ”

“ I am thankful for my growing baby and I haven't met her yet! ”

As for what exactly the survey respondents felt most thankful for at the time of sharing their thankful thoughts, things haven’t changed dramatically since the last time I reported on it. I’d love to get a little more input for a better picture of people’s gratitude, so let's leave it for the next time! 

In the meantime, you're welcomed to click on the picture above to have a better view of the breakdown of respondents by countries - I am proud to say that we're quite an international society of thankful people as the survey has been taken by people from 25 countries!

I also loved what some folks had to say about the Thankful Survey itself:

“ Answering these questions has actually made me think and realize that I'm more thankful than I thought. ”

“ This survey makes me seem like a really nice person. ”

So even if you're not looking to take any surveys, it's safe to assume everyone is looking for something to make them feel good, which, in turn, means you should still take the Thankful Survey! If you haven't already, of course, and if you have, I'm thanking you wholeheartedly!

Encyclopedia of Gratitude

Being the thankful person that I am, of course I had to jump on the bandwagon and submit a post to the Encyclopedia of Gratitude project by writer Erich Origen - you can see my submission by clicking the picture below. 

Originally, I felt the urge to send a short piece inspired by my own thankful post from my thanksgiving year, but seeing how other posts on the website were much longer, I thought I had to fit in and sent in a longer piece. 

Turns out, we should really trust our initial gut feelings. I have been sent a notification email which said that "the editors kept the sentiment you expressed at the beginning, feeling that simple thought alone could not be improved upon by adding anything else." 

The post has also been enhanced by the editors with a picture and a song.

A Lady and a 'Thank You': Opinions

First of all, big thanks to everyone who shared their thoughts on the Lady and a Thank You dilemma I wrote about in my previous post!

Most of you thought I was right to offer my appreciation, and more than a few of you even admitted they’d feel offended if they were told “what a lady should or should not do”, as offered by commenter Brenda A. And while I personally didn't find the man's remark offensive, the topic is something I'm very curious about. So much so that I even took the time yesterday to write to Miss Manners and to the editors of the etiquette column at Real Simple asking for help with this matter!

Now let’s wait and see if they ever get back to me and help us figure it all out! (If you know of a website where I can ask for advice on good manners, please let me know so that I can consult them too). In the meantime, here are some of the main ideas expressed by you:

And here's an opinion from a friend of mine via Facebook:

Anna Dobrynina:

"I think you did the right thing. That man sounds a little creepy honestly. It's funny that he kind of went out of his way to come up to you and tell you that. What's wrong with saying thank you? It takes less than two seconds and just means that you acknowledge what was done for you, that's what I personally think."

A Lady Should Never Say 'Thank You'?

Generally, when someone does something nice for me I say 'thank you'. That's how it should be. Today was a bit of an exception as a stranger who held a door open for me had his headphones on, so I just nodded instead. Although later I realized I could've totally said it too - even if he wouldn't have heard me, he would've still seen that I thanked him.

Today's experience also reminded me of one from a while back that still has me puzzled. At the entrance to a shop a man was holding a door for his female companion when he saw me and my friend approaching and then kept holding the door until we made it past him and inside. Naturally, I thanked him without even giving it much thought. However, he wasn't too pleased. He came up to me at the store and quitely said that "a lady should never say "thank you", particularly in a situation like that.

"Was he right about it?" is the question I'm still asking myself. Something tells me a different situation may call for a different reply to it and that specifics of a particular case might matter. But what is a general rule? What would a well-mannered lady do and what would a well-mannered man expect of a lady? Anyone familiar with the correct protocol?

P.S. There's a thread on the topic on Yahoo! Answers (not started by me), if you need some opinions to get you started on it.

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Cafe Gratitude

Did you know there was a "collection" of restaurants called Cafe Gratitude located in the San Francisco Bay Area in the sunny state of California, USA? I seem to be finding so many cool gratitude related things lately!

"Café Gratitude is our expression of a world of plenty. Our food and people are a celebration of our aliveness. We select the finest organic ingredients to honor the earth and ourselves, as we are one and the same. We support local farmers, sustainable agriculture and environmentally friendly products. Our food is prepared with love. We invite you to step inside and enjoy being someone that chooses: loving your life, adoring yourself, accepting the world, being generous and grateful every day, and experiencing being provided for. Have fun and enjoy being nourished."

Image courtesy of cafegratitude.com

To Live Inspired

Found an absolutely fabulous website full of amazingly stylish journals, cards, notebooks and whatnot in the most delicious juicy colors possible! I like the variety they offer, but the "thank you" range is my favorite (bet you're not surprised!) From the company's website:

"Compendium is a Seattle-based company that creates and distributes a fresh, design-rich line of inspiring gift products. Since 1985, Compendium has had a talent for turning everyday items into extraordinary gifts, and everyday occasions into memorable events. We’ll help you foster deeper relationships with your most important contacts, and show you what it truly means to “live inspired.”

Are you inspired to check them out? I knew I totally wanted to see more once I saw the above item!

Scientific Facts Behind the Feeling of Gratitude

"Grateful people report higher levels of positive emotions, life satisfaction, vitality, optimism and lower levels of depression and stress. The disposition toward gratitude appears to enhance pleasant feeling states more than it diminishes unpleasant emotions. Grateful people do not deny or ignore the negative aspects of life." - Robert A. Emmons and Michael E. McCullough

Robert A. Emmons is a leading researcher in the field of psychology of gratitude, professor at UC-Davis and author of four books on the subject. Together with Michael E. McCullough they have conducted a number of experimental studies in the field, here's a summary of their findings:

1)  In an experimental comparison, those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events (Emmons & McCullough, 2003);

2) 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;

3) A daily self-guided gratitude exercises with young adults resulted in higher reported levels of the positive states of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy compared to a focus on hassles or a downward social comparison (ways in which participants thought they were better off than others);

4) Participants in the daily gratitude condition were more likely to report having helped someone with a personal problem or having offered emotional support to another;

5) In a sample of adults with neuromuscular disease, a 21-day gratitude intervention resulted in greater amounts of high energy positive moods, a greater sense of feeling connected to others, more optimistic ratings of one’s life, and better sleep duration and sleep quality, relative to a control group;

6) Children who practice grateful thinking have more positive attitudes toward school and their families (Froh, Sefick, & Emmons, 2008).

I've seen my share of amazing things happening to me after my year of thanksgiving was done, and there were so much more to it than just the above. Any of you who have tried to practice gratitude too seen any of the aforementioned benefits or more? Please do share!


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