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The Book in One Sentence
- Thanks a Thousand is about A.J. Jacobs’ decision to thank every person involved in making his morning cup of coffee … and the resulting journey that takes him across the globe.
The Five Big Ideas
- Gratitude is the single best predictor of well-being and good relationships.
- Gratitude emerges from two stages of information processing—affirmation and recognition.
- Practicing gratitude is challenging because, if something is done well for us, the process behind it is largely invisible.
- People who say the phrase “I am grateful” are seen as more genuinely thankful than when people simply say “thank you.”
- Our comfort in life often comes at the expense of others.
Thanks a Thousand Summary
One study summarized in Scientific American found that gratitude is the single best predictor of well-being and good relationships, beating out twenty-four other impressive traits such as hope, love, and creativity.
According to Robert Emmons, a psychology professor at UC Davis, “Grateful living is possible only when we realize that other people and agents do things for us that we cannot do for ourselves. Gratitude emerges from two stages of information processing—affirmation and recognition. We affirm the good and credit others with bringing it about. In gratitude, we recognize that the source of goodness is outside of ourselves.”
Gratitude is difficult to maintain and requires effort and intention because if something is done well for us, the process behind it is largely invisible.
Scott Barry Kaufman, an author and a researcher that taught positive psychology and gratitude at the University of Pennsylvania, told Jacobs, “Gratitude has a lot to do with holding on to a moment as strongly as possible. It’s closely related to mindfulness and savoring. Gratitude can shift our perception of time and slow it down. It can make our life’s petty annoyances dissolve away, at least for a moment. ”
Jacobs invites readers to make a concerted effort to acknowledge all the good things they take for granted.
“When it’s effective, gratitude should be a two-way street. It should be helpful to both the thanker and the thankee. It’s not just a self-help tool, it should brighten other lives.”
Jacobs quotes a Wharton study that concluded that people who say the phrase “I am grateful” are seen as more genuinely thankful than when people simply say “thank you.”
Habitat for Humanity co-founder Millard Fuller once said, “It’s easier to act your way into a new way of thinking than to think your way into a new way of acting.”
One realization Jacobs had while going through his gratitude project was that his comfort often comes at the expense of others.
Jacobs recount spending one morning reading out a list of horrible diseases he didn’t have as a reminder of his good health. “It’s much easier to be grateful for a good thing (a raise at work, a delicious meal) than for the lack of a bad thing,” writes Jacobs. But both are important.” [Note from Sam: this echoes Negative Visualization—a gratitude practice William B. Irvine discusses in his book, A Guide to the Good Life.]
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