Page 188 - Resources and Support for the Online Educator

12 PATHWAYS TO WELL-BEING

resiliency when they tested a group of college students in early 2001 to
measure the level of positive emotions they expressed—including grati-
tude. These same students were tested in the weeks following the 9/11
attacks in New York City. In analyzing students’ pre– and post–9/11
scores, researchers found that those participants who had expressed
higher levels of positive emotions, including gratitude, were less likely
to experience depression or other negative emotions following the
events of 9/11 (Fredrickson et al., 2003).

Social Health
Based upon the give-and-take nature of fully expressed gratitude,
researchers at UC Davis identified a connection between gratitude and
a person’s social health. For starters, people who are grateful also tend
to be empathetic—very good at putting themselves in someone else’s
shoes. Along with their ability to empathize, grateful people tend to
have a strong sense of community and believe they have a responsibil-
ity to care for others. These characteristics lead to positive outcomes,
including:
• Deep friendships
• The ability to be good team players

• Strong family relationships

• Willingness to help others
• Strong sense of community

The Real-World Connection

Americans’ levels of optimism and happiness have been declining over
the last few years. An Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor
Poll conducted in 2015 asked participants how six current social and
economic trends in American society impacted their general feelings of
optimism or pessimism. While two of the trends made them feel more
optimistic, participants reported that the remaining four trends left
them feeling increasingly pessimistic (Brownstein, 2015). Additionally,
America’s ranking in the international World Happiness Report has
fallen for the second time in two years. In the 2018 report, America
fell from 14th to 18th in the report’s ranking of 156 countries from

Pathways to Well-Being: Helping Educators (and Others) Find Balance in a Connected World 188