Gratitude means to be grateful and acknowledge all that you have and are blessed with. As children, we are often taught to be honest, brave, hard-working, and what not. But something that is rarely taught to us is gratitude. This quality is mostly forgotten by us as adults because there is no emphasis on developing it as young children. Even when we are taught to thank people when they help us, it is inculcated as good manners rather than being learnt as an act of showing gratitude through our words.

In the field of positive psychology, gratitude is considered to be an important positive emotion that is beneficial not only to those practicing it but also to those on the receiving end of it. So how exactly is being grateful beneficial?

• Gratitude has been found to be one of the most effective ways of improving your mood and increasing positive emotions like happiness and optimism.
• It helps you develop good self esteem and a positive outlook towards life and makes you feel better about yourself as well as the world in general.
• It helps you pay attention to the little things in your life and appreciate these things and stay grounded when you feel too overwhelmed.
• It helps you tackle difficult situations more effectively because you are able to see the good things in life.
• It helps produce a wave of gratitude and positivity. Your gratefulness will be an example for those around you to practice the same and, in turn, creating a ripple effect and inculcating gratitude and positivity in them as well.
• It has also been found to be good for our health as it helps reduce symptoms of illnesses as well as providing motivation to take care of ourselves. It has been known to reduce anxiety, stress, and depression as well.

After reading all this, you might be wondering how exactly to start. The easiest way to start your journey of gratitude is by making a note of all the things you are grateful for. It could be anything at all and it doesn’t have to be a long list of things each day. Even if you have found just one thing to be grateful for, consider it an achievement.
With so many benefits to our mind and body through the practice of gratitude, let’s make it a point to start looking at the things we are thankful for than to focus on the things that make us unhappy. It seems like the perfect time to start with Christmas and New Year just around the corner, doesn’t it?