A Healthy Resolution Without Diet or Exercise

That’s right, to start the New Year off on the right foot, you don’t need to join a gym or shun the sweets. It seems that having perspective is good for you.

By way of review, perspective helps people see things as they really are, not as some exaggeration taken from social media or the news. It separates the important from the trivial. One of the easiest ways to exercise strong perspective is to have gratitude, to appreciate what we have instead of always yearning for more, nicknamed “the hedonic treadmill.” An important skill is to learn to make the right comparisons.

A recent NPR piece expounds upon the health advantages of such activities as keeping a gratitude journal. “There's a growing body of research on the benefits of gratitude. Studies have found that giving thanks and counting blessings can help people sleep better, lower stress and improve interpersonal relationships. Earlier this year, a study found that keeping a gratitude journal decreased materialism and bolstered generosity among adolescents.” 

There is also some evidence that it may lower the risk of heart disease and mitigate the symptoms of depression. [Links to all studies are provided in the NPR article.]

But it’s not necessary to keep a journal if some other reminder does the trick. Choose any daily routine or landmark along the commute to stimulate some thoughts about how lucky we are as Americans.

In her 2013 book The Myths of Happiness, Dr. Lyubomirsky, a recognized expert on the subject, agrees. Gratitude and appreciation, including appreciation for the others in our lives work toward “lending our lives greater meaning.” Her research suggests that “a new attitude toward money, time, spending and possessions can stimulate people to rise [above adversity] in ways that they previously had not envisioned, to contribute more positively to society, to thrive via cooperation and independence and to live more authentically and more lightly on the earth” (pp. 158-159).

 One trick to this appreciation is to make the right comparisons. Many Americans feel down or deprived by just looking around. Social media consistently portrays groups of friends having a wonderful time (while you sit at home). Stories are often of exceedingly glamorous or seriously miserable experiences, defying competition on both ends of the spectrum. The news media constantly scare the audience with isolated tragedies, without making comparisons or mentioning how rare they might be. (That’s not their job.) Other wrong comparisons include not being able to get your dream job or afford your dream house, dream vacation or dream car, or even keep up with the neighbors. (It’s nice to have a car with no payments that runs well and a house to keep warm and dry.)

What are the right comparisons?

The quote is sometimes attributed to the late George Burns, “When I get up in the morning I read the obituaries. If I don’t see my name there, I go to breakfast.” Older people find it easier to appreciate another day of life and the friends of today and the past. I was reminded recently that one hundred years ago instead of worrying about not getting enough likes on Facebook or stressing over the political shenanigans in Washington, Americans were concerned about their young men coming back from WWI alive or not dying from the worldwide Spanish flu pandemic, while they had a live expectancy 30 years shorter than today.

 If you are not one of the one-percent in the US, it’s easy to forget that the majority of Americans, anyone making over $32,400 a year, is in the top one-percent in the world (and people are risking their lives to come to this country).

But there are many less extreme reasons to be grateful in each of our lives, if we only take the time to find them (and write them down if necessary). 

A resolution to show gratitude, to improve behavior in the dimension of perspective, is free, painless, good for your health and good for society. (It may not be great for the economy, as people stop buying things they don’t need, but I’m not too worried about that.)