Gratitude has been repeatedly shown to improve our happiness, health, and relationships. Yet some critics suggest that it may lead to attitudes of selfishness and self-indulgence. Researchers from UC Riverside recently examined the evidence and found that gratitude in fact not only helps us feel good, but may even motivate us to pursue our goals and engage more with the world around us. Identifying four key elements, connectedness, elevation, humility, and indebtedness, they found that these play a significant role in how a simple act of gratitude can have a much larger impact on our efforts toward self-improvement, and even shape how we respond to others. [Full Story]