Thanksgiving’s over, but giving thanks is always appropriate. In fact, gratitude is often counted among the character qualities of successful people—successful in life, that is, not necessarily business. In 2004 Martin Seligman and Christopher Peterson published Character Strengths and Virtues: A Handbook and Classification, now considered the seminal work on human virtue from a scientific standpoint. The authors isolate 24 universally acknowledged character traits, which can be further narrowed to the seven most critical to life satisfaction and high achievement. One of the seven is gratitude.
Most Americans would agree, at least in theory, that it’s important to count one’s blessings, and individually stating what we’re thankful for around the Thanksgiving table is a ritual repeated every year in households across the nation. Friends, family, health, safe travel, and good food usually top the list. For a day, or part of a day, we make a point of feeling good about these things and may resolve to be more grateful in the future—or at least until the next argument over money or breakdown on the highway or long night in a hospital. Gratitude as it’s practiced in contemporary society is generally lightweight and fleeting, more gloss than gear.
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