11/19/2025
Can gratitude make you happier?
The holiday season oftentimes comes packaged with high expectations. Experts suggest that one aspect of the Thanksgiving season can actually lift the spirits, and it's built right into the holiday - being grateful.
New research shows that gratitude is consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.
Here are a few suggestions to cultivate gratitude on a regular basis:
- Write a thank-you note or email expressing your enjoyment and appreciation of the person's impact on your life. Send it, or better yet, deliver it and read it with the person. Make a habit of sending at least one gratitude letter a month. And once in a while, write one to yourself.
- No time to write? Think about someone who has done something nice for you, and mentally thank the individual.
- Keep a gratitude journal. Make it a habit to write down the thoughts you have about the gifts you've received each day.
- Count your blessings. Pick a time every week to sit down and write about your blessings - taking the time to reflect on what went right or what you are grateful for. Sometimes it helps to pick a number, such as three to five things, that you will identify each week.
- Pray. People who are religious can use prayer to cultivate gratitude by saying thank you for their blessings.
- Meditate. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing on the present moment without judgment. Although people often focus on a word or phrase (such as "peace"), it is also possible to focus on what you're grateful for (the warmth of the sun, a pleasant sound, etc.).
Source: Harvard Medical School
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