Gratitude letter from andResilience
“Gratitude makes us appreciate the value of something, and when we appreciate the value of something, we extract more benefits from it; we’re less likely to take it for granted,” Robert Emmons
Theme: Mental Resilience
Use: Activity, Tutor Time
Pupil type: KS2, KS3, KS4, KS5
Type: Document
Implementation timeframe: Quick Win, Manageable
“Gratitude makes us appreciate the value of something, and when we appreciate the value of something, we extract more benefits from it; we’re less likely to take it for granted,” says Robert Emmons, professor of psychology and gratitude expert at the University of California (cited in Brown, 2021, p. 213).
Therefore, finding ways to boost gratitude can also lead to a boost in over wellbeing.
One exercise you can do to have a big boost of gratitude is to write a gratitude letter. You can do this by doing the following:
- Choose a person in your life that you are grateful for, this may be a parent, teacher, friend or family member.
- Once you have decided on a person, write them a letter telling them why you are so grateful for them and what the person did for you that was so important.
- You then need to decide whether to send the letter via email or post, read the letter over the phone or read it in person. The most impactful is if you take the time to visit the person and read it to them face to face.
All three options have been shown to create a big boost in positive emotions to the individual who has written the letter and the person who receives the letter.
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