Robert Emmons

Researcher, author and speaker on all things related to gratitude & joy

In addition to his academic appointment at UC Davis, Robert Emmons is director of the Emmons Lab, a long-term research project designed to create and disseminate a large body of novel scientific data on the nature of gratitude, its causes, and its potential consequences for human health and well-being. He is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Psychological Association, American Psychological Society, Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Society for Personality and Social Psychology, International Society for Quality of Life Studies (Fellow), International Network for the Study of Personal Meaning, International Positive Psychology Association and APA, Division 36 where he served as President from 2003 to 2004. Emmons is editor-in-chief of The Journal of Positive Psychology. He has also served as consulting editor for the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Personality. In addition, he has been an editorial consultant for the International Journal for the Psychology of Religion and a guest editor for the Journal of Personality special issue Levels and Domains in Personality (with D.P. McAdams).

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Gratitude Works!

A 21-Day Program for Creating Emotional Prosperity

by Robert A. Emmons

I’m grateful for Robert Emmons. He’s dedicated the last three decades of his life to understanding the science of how to boost our well-being. In the process, he’s conducted ground-breaking research on the power of gratitude. In fact, he’s basically THE researcher we have to thank for understanding *just* how powerful gratitude journaling is. (He's also served as editor-in-chief of The Journal of Positive Psychology.) I consider myself a reasonably grateful guy but this book has opened my eyes to JUST how powerful gratitude is. And, to just how important it is to DELIBERATELY PRACTICE it. Big Ideas we explore include: How to give yourself a 25% (!!!) boost in happiness, the top gratitude practices, the #1 obstacle to gratitude (and its remedy), and using challenges for grateful fuel!

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Positive Psychology

Best of Optimize positive-psychology

Thanks!

How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier

by Robert A. Emmons

Robert Emmons is one of the world's leading experts on the science of gratitude and this book is packed with the whys and hows of getting our gratitude on. In this Note, we'll explore Big Ideas on how we can boost our happiness by 25% by simply keeping a daily gratitude journal, how to get our relationships flourishing, the importance of seeing challenges as opportunities for growth and more goodness.

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Journaling & Positive Psychology

Best of Optimize Love Modern Classic Spirit Volume II

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Gratitude
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Science Says: It Works!

Gratitude is a very powerful thing. Shockingly so. In fact, research shows that something as simple as writing down 5 things you’re grateful for once a week can boost your happiness by up to 25%. Really? Yah. So… Let’s do the work right now shall we? 5 things you’re grateful for, please! 1. _____...

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Smile!
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A Surprisingly Powerful Way to Boost Your Mood

Get this: Scientists can bring people into a lab and have them hold a pen in their mouths in one of two different ways to elicit two very different outcomes. One group comes in and holds a pen between their lips. The other group holds the pen between their teeth. (Try it to feel the difference!) Guess wh...

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Three Ways to Give Thanks Today

For everyone in the US celebrating today: Happy Thanksgiving!! For everyone else: Happy Day of Thanks!! 😃 Let’s celebrate by recapping three great ways to boost your gratitude today. First, we have our standard Gratitude Practice. Remember: Science says that simply writing down five things you�...

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Connection & Positive Psychology

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The Ultimate Gift
#1067

Existence Itself

In our last +1 we talked about David Brooks’ two mountains and connected them to the metaphor of stepping out of our shiny race cars and into the pit crew to help OTHERS win THEIR races in life. I encouraged us to get tactical about it—picking three people and thinking of one thing we could do fo...

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Some EYE-POPPING Stats

In our last +1, we talked about the power of gratitude. We soaked up some science-wisdom from Robert Emmons, the leading researcher on gratitude, who told us that gratitude is the best approach to life. When things are going well, it amplifies the awesome. When things aren’t going so well, it gives...

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#1069

Science Says: #1 Practice = …

Robert Emmons joined us to give us some EYE-POPPING (his words, my all caps!) stats: “People are 25 percent happier if they keep gratitude journals, sleep one-half hour more per evening, and exercise 33 percent more each week compared to persons who are not keeping these journals.” We have No...

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Taking Things FOR GRANTED vs. AS GRANTED
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Let’s Choose Wisely

In our last couple +1s, we talked about the science of gratitude and explored some tips on Robert Emmons’ #1 practice: Gratitude Journaling. Today I want to chat about one of the distinctions I most loved from his book Gratitude Works! He tells us: “Think about and then write down those aspec...

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And Its Remedy

In our last +1, we continued our exploration of the science of gratitude by practicing the grateful art of shifting from taking things “for granted” to seeing all the gifts “AS GRANTED” to us. Today I want to talk about the #1 thing that gets in the way of gratitude. Q: Can you gu...

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Memento Privilege
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The Science of Memento Mori

Let’s continue our exploration of the science of gratitude for another moment (or three). In his great book Gratitude Works!, Robert Emmons walks us through a number of practices we can use to cultivate our gratitude. As discussed, the #1 practice he recommends is gratitude journaling. Then there&#...

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Memento (Time) Flies
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28 Days Later

In our last +1, we talked about the science of Memento Mori. And, for the courageous among us, we actually walked through the “death” scenario scientists use to create more gratitude in their test subjects. Now… Right after I typed that +1, I cruised into the bathroom (TMI? 😲 ) where...

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Science of: Gratitude, Suffering, and Redemption

In our last couple +1s, we reflected on the fact that we’d be wise to remember that time flies and the fact that (newsflash!) we’re not going to live forever. That “contrasting” as the scientists call it, provides a healthy perspective shift that tends to force us into a more grat...

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Antifragility & Confidence

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Gratitude Letters
#1076

Write One Lately? (Science Says…)

Wrapping up our foray into the science of gratitude, let’s chat about one more INCREDIBLY powerful way to boost our gratitude and, therefore, pretty much every aspect of our well-being: Gratitude Letters. Let’s go back to Robert Emmons and Martin Seligman. In Gratitude Works! Emmons tells us:...

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The Language of Gratitude
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Gifts, Blessings and Humility

Not too long ago, we spent some time with Robert Emmons—the leading scholar studying the science of gratitude. Once again: “Thank you, Dr. Emmons!” Seriously. Wow. THANK YOU for dedicating decades of your life to the pursuit of understanding how we can all Optimize our well-being. (I’...

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Let’s Seize the Day → TODAY!

In our last +1, we spent some more time with Robert Emmons as we talked about a new gratitude journaling practice I’m integrating into my daily Carpe Diem journaling. I actually did a video on this not too long ago where I talked about the process: How to Journal Carpe Diem Style! Today I’d l...

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Right Before That Chat With the Supervisor

In our last +1, we played the “I want to speak with your supervisor!” game. You play it yet? If not, try it. It’s truly awesome. 🤓 As you’ll recall, the most important part of the process is to start with the end in mind—knowing that it’ll end with you praising the awes...

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Robert Emmons

Researcher, author and speaker on all things related to gratitude & joy

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Smile!
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Thanks! Thanks! And Thanks!
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The Ultimate Gift
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Science Says: Gratitude Works
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How to Cultivate Gratitude
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Taking Things FOR GRANTED vs. AS GRANTED
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The #1 Obstacle to Gratitude
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Memento Privilege
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Memento (Time) Flies
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OMMS Journaling
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Gratitude Letters
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How to Carpe Diem Journal (v2)
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