Gratitude and Thankfulness

Gratitude is the “forgotten factor” in happiness research.

Dr. Michael McCollough of the University of Miami and Dr. Robert Emmons of the University of California at Davis conducted 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.

Scientists are latecomers to the concept of gratitude. Religions and philosophies have long embraced gratitude as an indispensable manifestation of virtue, and an integral component of health, wholeness, and well-being.

Summary of Findings

◦  In an experimental comparison, those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).

◦  A related benefit was observed in the realm of personal goal attainment:  Participants who kept gratitude lists were more likely to have made progress toward important personal goals (academic, interpersonal and health-based) over a two-month period compared to subjects in the other experimental conditions.

◦  A daily gratitude intervention (self-guided exercises) with young adults resulted in higher reported levels of the positive states of alertness, enthusiasm, determination, attentiveness and energy compared to a focus on hassles or a downward social comparison (ways in which participants thought they were better off than others). There was no difference in levels of unpleasant emotions reported in the three groups.

◦ Participants in the daily gratitude condition were more likely to report having helped someone with a personal problem or having offered emotional support to another, relative to the hassles or social comparison condition.

◦ In a sample of adults with neuromuscular disease, a 21-day gratitude intervention resulted in greater amounts of high energy positive moods, a greater sense of feeling connected to others, more optimistic ratings of one’s life, and better sleep duration and sleep quality, relative to a control group.

◦  Children who practice grateful thinking have more positive attitudes toward school and their families (Froh, Sefick, & Emmons, 2008).

(Source:  http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/Labs/emmons/PWT/index.cfm)

Thought of the Day

Be thankful for yourself – Make a list of your very best qualities and hang it on your mirror to look at when you get ready in the morning.

Interested?  Dr Emerson is conducting highly focused, cutting-edge studies on the nature of gratitude, its causes, and its consequences; he hopes to shed important scientific light on this important concept through two main lines of inquiry at the present time:

(1)    developing methods to cultivate gratitude in daily life and assess gratitude’s effect on well-being, and

(2)    developing a measure to reliably assess individual differences in dispositional gratefulness.

For further information, please contact Robert Emmons at raemmons@ucdavis.edu

Would you like to measure you level of happiness? Take Dr Emerson’s quiz here.

Improve your health and well-being, check what the scientists say.

Interested in careers to improve people’s lives and well-being? Check our website.

Have a safe and happy holiday!

The Work that Matters team.

You can make a difference in someone’s life by just telling your story

In 2006, a youth worker, a group of women and a filmmaker got together to portray the damaging effects of domestic violence.

 “Girls on film”, a 22-minute documentary, is the brainchild of Burwood Council’s Youth Worker Agata Furniss and forms part of Council’s successful Date Safe program that looks broadly at relationships issues for young women.

The film was made by young women and explores their peers’ as well as professional perspectives on domestic violence, featuring local community members including members of an all-female rock band.

The aim of the project was to communicate to women that domestic violence and assault are not acceptable and speaking out against it plays a crucial role in combating the problem.

Agata said:  “Its important that young women are informed about their rights but also made aware of how widespread domestic violence is in the community, by hearing a range of perspectives, women can be assured that it is OK to stand up for themselves and say ‘no’ to abuse.”

Interested in a career supporting people? Check our Career Charts.

Watch the documentary co-produced by Burwood Council and Channel Free/Metro Screen: It\’s OK to say NO

A career pathway from digital music to saving lives!

In 2002, Robert Goldman changed his career from software engineering to medical inventor.  His sister was diagnosed with colon cancer and he decided to put his skills to good use to save his sister’s life.

Rob invented the “Iso Flow” catheter, a tiny thin flexible tube that is inserted into the patient’s veins in order to inject medication directly into the tumour’s feeder blood vessel, leaving healthy cells unaffected.

Even though Amy sadly died in 2003 at the age of 39, the usefulness of the catheter continues to grow with possible applications including late-stage and pre-surgery cancer treatment, stroke intervention, and the treatment of other terminal diseases.

Interested in a career supporting people fighting with cancer?  Check our Career Charts.

To check how the Iso Flow works, watch the video:.

Would you change careers to make a difference in someone’s life?  Tell us your story!

Keeping donor hearts healthy for longer

Heart transplants are a race against the clock: hearts begin to deteriorate after about five hours outside the body.

Scientists at Sydney’s Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute have devised a solution that protects the donated heart, potentially doubling the organ’s life outside the body.

Trials on human organs begin this year.

At the moment, about 60% of donor hearts are ruled out due to the age of the heart.
Source: Readers Digest, May 2010

Find out more about a career with heart…

Did you know that in just five years robots will be used to travel inside the human body?

Researchers at Monash University are working on a motor smaller than the width of four human hairs.

The “Proteus motor” will be small enough to be injected into the bloodstream, swim inside arteries and organs and perform risky surgical procedures. These miniature robots will be controlled by remote control and ultimately assist humans to save lives.

This basic idea was the basis of the movie “Fantastic Voyage” in the 1966, we are in an exciting age where science is catching up to science fiction!

Interested in science? The Health industry offers a wide range of careers which will give you the opportunity to be part of the fascinating world of science. Want to know more?, check our website www.careersthatmatter.com.au

Disability Support Workers Rock!

Do you want a job that…

• is meaningful?
• makes a difference in people’s lives?
• empowers people who are disadvantaged?
• has flexibility about where and when you work?

Rohan has a job just like this…

Rohan Brooks works in the support services program at St John of God.

His connection to the music industry and passion for music has resulted in a unique program that has brought the worlds of disability and music together.

By combining his interest in rock music and connections within the music industry, Rohan has facilitated the establishment of the band Rudely Interrupted, which has provided a creative focus for a group of young musicians with a disability.

The band played at the opening of the Melbourne Fringe Festival and has performed in various city pubs and clubs.
The band has grown out of the music program School of Rock Project.

Rohan’s skills in music and ability to link the band to the Melbourne music scene has created opportunities for the individuals involved that are far greater than ever dreamed. He encouraged members to find and develop their skills as musicians. The band has been a vehicle for them to express themselves and their enjoyment, and success has made a huge impact on the quality of their lives.

Rohan was recognised for his exceptional contribution in the area of disability support when in 2007 he received a Victorian Disability Support Worker Award.

Working in the disability sector
Working in the disability sector provides a rewarding career. The disability professional works alongside and learns from people with disabilities, helping to facilitate their full participation in our community.

Disability workers help to develop the capacity of the individual and the capacity of the society in which they live.

Many work directly with people with a disability, assisting the person with their day-today activities in either residential or workplace settings. Others may work in supervisory and service management roles as, for example, house supervisors, program managers, case managers, disability liaison officers, and policy planning or project officers.

Through further study people can enter other careers including teaching and social work.

Graduates are eligible for employment with a wide range of government and non-government organisations and are ideally qualified to work in any setting or organisation that provides services to people with disabilities.

Get a great start to a career in disability.
Train now…Earn now!
Australian School-based Apprenticeships (ASbAs) – your head start to a career in community services and health – the fastest growing industry!

What’s in it for me?
As an Australian School-based Apprentice you get:

• paid while you work (can be one day a week, but it may also be at weekends, or in the school holidays)
• training by TAFE or another training provider, and an industry qualification when you finish, for example Certificate III Disability
• your senior school certificate – HSC or VCE or SACE or QCE for example
• the chance of a full or part-time job when you finish
• a head start to further study either in the same industry or a related area
• loads of real life experience and ‘hands-on’ time spent in the workplace and the ‘real world’
• a much better understanding of your industry and the working environment
• work that is challenging and meaningful and makes a difference to people’s lives
• national qualifications that will take you anywhere in Australia
• opportunities to work flexibly either full time, part time or casually in the rapidly growing community services industry

To find out more…

Download the Fact Sheet, go to Careers That Matter
or ask your school careers adviser.

You can also contact:
Australian Apprenticeships Training Information Service on 1800 338 022 www.aatinfo.com.au

Australian Apprenticeships on 13 38 73 www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au

Dr Elizabeth Blackburn is an inspiration to anyone wanting to make a difference in the world

Just few days ago, Molecular biologist Elizabeth Blackburn and her American colleagues were awarded the Medicine Nobel Prize for their major breakthrough in discovering the enzyme known as telomerase which protects people’s genes from wearing down.

Professor Blackburn was born in Tasmania and attended the University of Melbourne where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science. Now she works for the University of California in San Francisco, where she has been trying to find the “fountain of youth”, meaning finding a way for human bodies not to grow old.

What Dr Elizabeth Blackburn discovered that when telomeres (protective caps on the end of chromosomes) become worn, cells age. Dr Blackburn worked with psychologists who have been studying stress-related diseases and meditation and discovered that stress (for example) reduces our levels of telomerase, therefore defective telomerase results in damaged cells. By the same token, high levels of telomerase also help cancer, enabling its cells to replicate endlessly and achieve what scientists call “cellular immortality.” Blocking cancer through “telomerase inhibitors” is one of the most eagerly explored areas of medical research.

Professor Blackburn was inspired to become a scientist when, as a teenager, she read a biography about double-Nobel laureate Marie Curie. Marie Curie (1867-1934) together with her husband was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903, for their study into the spontaneous radiation. In 1911 she received a second Nobel Prize, this time in Chemistry, in recognition of her work in radioactivity.

There have been many women scientists in the past, such as Emilie Du Chatelet (1706-1749) who 272 years ago, in 1737, published a paper based upon her research into the science of fire, that predicted what is today known as infra-red radiation and the nature of light. In the year of her death at 43, she finished her translation into French, with her own commentary, of Newton’s Principia Mathematica, including her derivation from its principles of mechanics the notion of conservation of energy. Today du Châtelet’s translation of Principia Mathematica is still the standard translation of Newton’s work into French.

Here in Australia we have many young scientists making discoveries, such as Venezuelan-born Eliana Murino, 37, who may see the fruits of her breakthrough in diabetes prevention in a few years and Nicole Kuepper, 24, who is working on bringing cheap and clean electricity to the world.

Want to learn more about these scientists and others?

Get in touch

Ideas for your Gap Year

When you finish Year 12, the options are endless. Work or study, full or part time. Volunteer work or work experience. Travel. If you are taking a gap year, what are you planning to do?

Need some ideas?

Here’s a real story from a young person who took a Gap Year. They talk about how it helped them learn new hands-on skills and discover a new direction.

What is a career?

A career is not a job; it’s your life process through the paid and voluntary jobs you undertake throughout your life.

What is a career, to you?