The Gratitude Project

WHAT A CRAZY WORLD THIS IS! One minute life’s ticking along normally, and then – WHAM! – something turns it upside-down. An unexpected illness, a relationship breakup, the loss of a job, or a global pandemic – there’s always another bump in the road.

Some people weather those storms better than others – they can always see the sunshine beyond the clouds. But for others, that ability to look on the bright side is baffling – and people like that must be faking, or lying: “You think there’s something to be grateful for when the world’s on fire? You’re joking, mate!”

However, the evidence is compelling: we humans feel better – and healthier – if, no matter what the circumstances, we can find a reason to smile and be thankful. And that evidence caused New York Times best-selling author and journalist, Janice Kaplan, to conduct an experiment and change her perspective on life, just for 12 months. She wanted to find out if being intentionally grateful would make any difference to how her year went.

She chatted with us recently about her gratitude project – and the resulting New York Times Best Seller, The Gratitude Diaries.