Can Being Grateful Motivate Us to Exercise More?

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Many, many studies have shown that getting more exercise is good for our brain. It releases endorphins that elevate our mood and sense of well-being, increases circulation in the brain that leads to clear thinking, and alters hormones in our bodies that translate to brain health.

But can it happen the other way around? Can working on elevating mood help us to exercise more?

The answer to this question came in a somewhat roundabout way.

A study conducted by Emmons and McCullough formed three groups. One group was told to journal once a week and list 5 things that happened during the week that they were grateful for. Another group was told to journal once a week and list 5 things that had been a hassle for them. A third group was told to journal once a week about 5 things that affected them, but were not given instruction as to whether they should be positive or negative.

After 10 weeks, the group that had focused on gratitude ended up 25% happier than the other two groups. Astonishingly, the gratitude group also exercised almost 1.5 hours longer per week than the other groups.¹

What could be going on here?

Why negativity can be a downer

Daniel Amen, in his book, Change Your Brain, Change Your Life, notes that emotional tagging of events is critical to survival. If we tag an event negatively, it can cause an avoidance response. If we tag an event positively, it can drive us to action.²

Part of the problem is that, according to neuropsychologist Rick Hanson, we are biased toward negative tagging. Apparently, our survival is more dependent on being able to perceive a threat to our being, rather than notice that something good is happening.

Another problem is that focusing on the negative can cause us to isolate the negative thought and lose sight of the big picture. According to Hanson, once we have started to dwell on something negative, it is often difficult to stop the ruminating. After all, life is full of things to worry about. That focus on the negative, which is often unconscious or habitual, can make it difficult to visualize any other circumstances for ourselves.³

Jonathan Haidt, in his book The Happiness Hypothesis, explains that once we take a negative stance, we look for evidence that supports it. If we find some evidence—enough so that our position makes sense—we stop thinking. When this happens, often people will not initiate a change of thinking for themselves.⁴

What happens when we are grateful?

In addition to the Emmons and McCullough study, Custers and Aarts discovered that cultivating positive affect led to pursuing goals that would lead to further positivity. In other words, they showed that positive affect can be an implicit motivator.⁵

Jonathan Haidt notes that gratitude increases one’s sense of control over a situation. A sense of control can bring about an increase in engagement, energy, and happiness. This can translate into sustained optimism, the ability to consider new options, set new goals, and, yes, even exercise more.