We often believe that our emotions will lead us in negative directions. Therefore, we are usually advised to use our minds, not our emotions, when making serious decisions. For instance, we know that sad or depressed people tend to be more extravagant while shopping and more impatient in their relationships. However, it seems not all emotions have this effect; some special emotions that help us connect socially may have the opposite impact. Some interesting psychological studies provide intriguing evidence in this regard.
According to a report published on PsyBlog, researchers have shown that feelings of gratitude, induced through a simple test system, increase people's self-control and make them more patient in financial tests. During the experiments, participants were first induced into feelings of happiness, neutrality, or gratitude, and then subjected to a classic financial test. In the test, participants were told they could receive $54 now or $80 in 30 days. The happy and neutral participants, like most people, chose to take $54 immediately, while those who felt grateful found it more reasonable to wait for 30 days. The more intense the feelings of gratitude, the greater the participants' ability to wait and be patient. Although the reason is unknown, the study results clearly show that gratitude makes people more positive, less selfish, and more patient.
So, if you're looking for help with self-control, it might be a good idea to take a moment to be grateful for what you have and thank the Creator for everything given to you whenever you have free time.
It's worth considering...
You can find the study in question [here].