Inhaltsangabe"Gratitude is important not only because it helps us feel good, but also because it inspires us to do good. Gratitude heals, energizes, and transforms lives. Gratitude takes us outside our scope so we see ourselves as part of a larger, intricate network of sustaining relationships, relationships that are mutually reciprocal." From the Preface From Robert Emmons, the best-selling author of THANKS!, comes a vital resource that shows us how to tap into the power and grace of gratitude. Emmons draws on a wide array of research, including his own, to show that the practice of gratitude can have dramatic and lasting effects on and in our lives. It can lower blood pressure, improve immune function, promote happiness and well-being, and spur acts of helpfulness, generosity, and cooperation. The organic metaphor of "growing gratitude" is a powerful image for conveying basic truths of how we reap the benefits of a more gratitude-filled life. We do not acquire gratitude; we cultivate it through daily practices that make it a deeply ingrained disposition. This accessible book provides a twenty-one-day, step-by-step guide for cultivating gratitude practices-the concrete things you can do to grow your mind and direct your actions toward a more grateful worldview. Through practice, giving thanks grows from the ground of one's being. Grateful feelings, once buried, can surface if we take the time to notice and reflect. A French proverb states that gratitude is the memory of the heart-it is the way that the heart remembers. If you want to be a grateful person then you must remember to remember. Gratitude Works! will show you how.

Robert A. Emmons, Ph.D., is professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis. He is past president of the American Psychological Association's Division 36, The Psychology of Religion. Emmons is founding editor and editor-in-chief of The Journal of Positive Psychology.

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