What is Gratitude?

The 5 As of Gratitude:

Awareness, Appreciation, Attribution, Affectionate Response, Action 

At its most basic level, gratitude (or generalized gratitude) is the awareness and appreciation of goodness in one’s life, and the attribution of such goodness to a source that lies outside the self.  One experiences targeted gratitude when they attribute the source of goodness in one’s life to the intentional action of a benefactor (e.g., other people or God/a higher power), coupled with an affectionate (positive) response toward one’s benefactor. This affectionate response is fundamentally expressed through positive thoughts and emotions concerning one’s benefactor. Finally, one demonstrates actionable gratitude when targeted gratitude results in favorable action toward one’s benefactor, which includes honoring, expressing verbal gratitude to, and/or reciprocating one’s benefactor.