The Power of Graditude
Gratitude Brings Prosocial Behaviors
It would be a day I would never forget of the charity that was shown to my family. It was an early morning on November 23rd 1999 we were on our way to Idaho for thanksgiving, were just outside of Panguitch Utah we struck six horses running down the highway, being in the middle of the night my dad did not have time to stop the minivan that was carrying our entire family. I had just woken up in my hospital bed I wished that it was all a dream, but soon I realized the devastating news I was told last night was true, my mother had died and with that my family lost all of our clothing and blankets, due to the severity of the car accident. My dad had absolutely no money to pay for what was taken, we were dirt poor. There was doctor who showed the most humble kindness a person can offer. My family was provided with food, clothing, and home to stay in until help arrived from loved ones. I was truly grateful for the doctor’s kindness; through his example it made me want to be the kind of person that was willing to change lives. I know that if gratitude would be expressed in every ones day-to-day lives, the world would be a better place, because it will be a place where people show gratitude each other, due to the expression of gratitude an environment of Prosocial behavior will be born, which will create happier, nicer, and healthier people in America.
Gratitude in most psychologists writings is defined as a positive emotion. Emmons and describe gratitude as “an emotional response to a gift”, adding that “gratitude is an interpersonal emotion that is felt toward other people or entities, and not toward oneself (p.56).” Emmons, example of what a gift is he tells a story of a business owner who treats his employees with respect and love, on one occasion he rewards an employee an extra two hundred dollars on his pay check for coming up with a new idea that saved the company thousands of dollars. The gift there is the two hundred dollars.
It would be a day I would never forget of the charity that was shown to my family. It was an early morning on November 23rd 1999 we were on our way to Idaho for thanksgiving, were just outside of Panguitch Utah we struck six horses running down the highway, being in the middle of the night my dad did not have time to stop the minivan that was carrying our entire family. I had just woken up in my hospital bed I wished that it was all a dream, but soon I realized the devastating news I was told last night was true, my mother had died and with that my family lost all of our clothing and blankets, due to the severity of the car accident. My dad had absolutely no money to pay for what was taken, we were dirt poor. There was doctor who showed the most humble kindness a person can offer. My family was provided with food, clothing, and home to stay in until help arrived from loved ones. I was truly grateful for the doctor’s kindness; through his example it made me want to be the kind of person that was willing to change lives. I know that if gratitude would be expressed in every ones day-to-day lives, the world would be a better place, because it will be a place where people show gratitude each other, due to the expression of gratitude an environment of Prosocial behavior will be born, which will create happier, nicer, and healthier people in America.
Gratitude in most psychologists writings is defined as a positive emotion. Emmons and describe gratitude as “an emotional response to a gift”, adding that “gratitude is an interpersonal emotion that is felt toward other people or entities, and not toward oneself (p.56).” Emmons, example of what a gift is he tells a story of a business owner who treats his employees with respect and love, on one occasion he rewards an employee an extra two hundred dollars on his pay check for coming up with a new idea that saved the company thousands of dollars. The gift there is the two hundred dollars.