Focus Group-Gratitude

This month we will be focusing on Gratitude and writing Gratitude Letters.

• Gratitude enhances appreciation and fosters positive emotions and relationships.
• Writing gratitude letters strengthens bonds and boosts happiness.
• The process enhances gratitude, which improves health, optimism, and kindness.

While not mandatory, below are some steps that may help if you wish to write a gratitude letter.

• Step one – take a moment to think about someone who has positively impacted your life (whether in the short or long term) that you appreciate, yet may not have thanked properly.
• Step two – write that person a letter describing how you feel about what they have done for you and why you are grateful to them. Seligman describes it as follows, it “should be concrete and about three hundred words: be specific” and mention how often you remember what they did (Seligman, 2011, p. 30).

• Step three – while this may not always be an option-or at times the right thing to do-Seligman suggests you take time reading the letter and watch for the other person’s reactions and your own. And then, when finished, discuss the content with them (Seligman, 2011).

   

Each month, participants in the Focus Group focus on a specific aspect of their life. During the meeting, we will discuss how successful we were that month and whether focusing making small changes impacted our life or changed our perspective.

At the end of the meeting, we will agree upon a new focus for the coming month.

We hope you’ll come join our discussion!