No sooner did I do an entry about sports psychology, when Martin Seligman appeared in the New York Times Magazine this weekend. Martin Seligman designed the original experiments that led to the discovery of learned helplessness. He did things to dogs that would no longer be allowed. In the process, he found that when animals (and, subsequently, humans) feel that they can do nothing to change a bad situation, they just give up. Eventually he became interested in learned optimism .
Quoting from the Times article, it looks like "gratitude is a key component of personal happiness. People who are grateful about specific things in their past, who dwell on the sweet triumphs instead of the bitter disappointments, tend to be more satisified about the present. The gratitude visit, Seligman says , can be an effective way to ' increase the intensity , duration and frequency of positive memory.'"
Directions for doing a gratitude visit.
1. Pick a person in your life who has been kind to you, but whom you have never thanked properly
2. Write a letter to that person outlining specifically, in concrete terms, why you are grateful to him or her.
3. Call upon the object of your gratitude, in person, and read your letter aloud.
Seligman says that everyone cries at a gratitude visit because the ritual is so powerful and moving.
I can't wait to try it. Really, I can. I'm already trying to think of someone who is geographically accessible. Convenience should not be the primary concern in this matter. I will make a list of possible gratitude visit recipients, and see how that goes.
Posted by Dakota at December 15, 2003 10:31 PM