Gratitude is the quality of being thankful, showing appreciation and returning kindness.
During Thanksgiving and Christmas time people often lose sight of what is important. We get distracted by the all food and presents when we should be focusing on the love we have for the people around us. The feeling of gratitude is a common theme during the holiday season; however, I feel like it should be a common theme in our everyday life. That being said, there is never a better time to start practicing gratitude and being thankful for everything in your life.
Research has shown that gratitude is closely related to greater happiness. Not only does it boost your overall mood, it is also scientifically proven to affect all areas of your life from relationships to stress levels to quality of sleep.
A great way to kickstart your gratitude practice is a gratitude poster like the one below. I recently started a gratitude poster for the month of November. How this gratitude poster works is every day I write down one thing I am grateful for, inspired by, happy about, or simply put me in a good mood.
I know I can speak for everyone when I say this year has been a rollercoaster of events and emotions in my life. This is just another reason why being intentionally grateful for things is important. As crazy as life gets, having gratitude keeps us grounded and reminds us that things are not always as bad as they seem.
Gratitude is infectious and I believe it can change your life. You will notice that you appreciate life so much more and you will start to appreciate what you have rather than what you don’t have. This holiday season I challenge you to show gratitude towards your friends and family and fill the room with gratitude wherever this season of your life takes you!