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Gratitude Building Games

According M.J. Ryan and Daphne Rose Kingma, authors of the book, ̶0;Attitudes of Gratitude in Love,̶1; a healthy sense of appreciation contributes to positive physical and mental health benefits, like lower depression and blood pressure. Death, loss of a job or even something less severe like a bad grade can cause many to lose a sense of gratitude. However, gratitude games can rebuild positive attitude and can cause people to reflect on their self-worth.

Questionnaire Game
- Though many shy away from self-flattery and perceive it as a sign of excessive ego, verbalizing their positive attributes can build self-esteem. Instruct each person to write three questions related to personal skills and ability. For example, ̶0;list three of your favorite physical attributes̶1; and, ̶0;Unbeknownst to most, I am exceptionally skilled at ___.̶1; Read each question aloud and ask everyone to answer it.
Pictures of Gratitude
- Drawing people, places and things for which people are grateful is a way to engage everyone in a fun guessing game. Divide into two teams and have each person write down a list of five nouns they appreciate: The family dog, a kid's music teacher, family members and holidays could be a few examples. Select a person from the team to draw an item from their list. Their team must guess the correct item within an allotted time. For each correct guess, give one point. The team with the most points wins.
Person of Gratitude Game
- Commenting on how other people have positively impacted their life creates a sense of togetherness and promotes team-building. Sit in a circle and instruct a person to make a statement of gratitude about the person sitting across from them. For example, one friend might say to another, ̶0;I am so grateful for the time you helped me study for that math exam for six straight hours.̶1; A daughter might say to a mother, ̶0;I am so grateful that you attend all of my baseball meets and make signs to cheer me on.̶1;
  
  Repeat the game using different matches. The game can continue until everyone has given a statement of gratitude about every person in the room.
Gratitude in Action Game
- Inspire guests to go out and act in gratitude-inspiring ways. Ask each person a hypothetical question, like, ̶0;How are your talents best served to improve the world?̶1; and, ̶0;What is one need in my community that you could fulfill?̶1; Instruct each to write concrete steps for how to achieve these possibilities.

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