In an article written in Healthbeat, a Harvard Health Publishing Newsletter for Harvard Medical School it’s noted that according to positive psychology research (who knew there was such a thing), “gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness”.

When you take the time to be grateful, you allow yourself to appreciate what was done for you or what you have done for yourself. Personally, I don’t do anything if I’m going to be halfway about it. It’s just not worth it and I’m certainly not going to sign off on something that isn’t done to the best of my ability. It’s just not me and I physically cannot do it. So, when I’ve taken on a task, I am always sure to do my best to the point where I can’t see room for improvement. Sure, others might, but different strokes for different folks, right?

Gratitude also helps keep you happy and healthy. Research has found that people who are grateful show fewer signs of stress and depression and sleep better. When you express gratitude, you enhance empathy and even helps with self-esteem!

When I think of happy, the first person that pops into my head is Kate Hudson. If you follow her on social media, you already know why. Even in her movies (not the scary ones), she exudes this glow of happiness and life. The way I perceive her is what I call goals! From her commercials for her Fabletics line where she just seems calm and cool, her home videos with her kids where she’s silly and happy, or the way she and her mom (Goldie Hawn) laugh with their whole bodies and open mouths to really get the gusto out of a laugh, she is legit goals!

It got me to wondering, how does one get to be THAT happy. Heck, I don’t know if she IS that happy-go-lucky all the time but if she’s not, she’s putting an AWFUL amount of energy into pretending she is.

Sure, anyone can say that they’d be happy to if they had her money or career, but the fact of the matter is that plenty of people out there have even more money than her and bigger careers and still don’t manage to convince me they’re not as stressed out and begrudged as I can be sometimes.

So back to “gratitude” I go, turns out it’s the number 1 thing ahead of meditating that really makes a noticeable difference in a person’s life. One step we all can take today is to start a gratitude journal. It doesn’t have to be a fancy journal either it can be a notebook or even an app or online document. The point is to be sure it’s convenient to access daily and easy to express yourself.

Some people find it difficult to type out how they feel. they get lost in their thoughts (which btw isn’t a terrible thing) and don’t ever get anything done others find it therapeutic to listen to the tapping of the keys while thinking f things that went right today. the point is that you recognize and jot it down. you want to really look at what you’re writing and allow yourself to take in the good and release the bad. It’s not about perfection, this journal isn’t for publishing, it’s for you to be able to sort out your feelings.

Saying aloud the many things you’re grateful for works, writing them down helps you remember. So as the year comes to an end and we’re not sure how 2021 is going to treat us, let’s focus on what matters, what counts, the good we have, and let’s be grateful.