Category: Gratitude

grat·i·tude
/’gradəˌt(y)o͞od/
Noun
the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

It is common for many of us to focus on the situations and events in our lives that we perceive as undesirable, inconvenient, and difficult. We’ve each experienced moments, maybe even thousands of them in total, when we’ve felt as if everything was working against us and that there’s no overcoming the barrage of bad luck plaguing our careers, relationships, and finances. These moments can range from tragic to miniscule, but no matter their severity or size, they consume our range of vision and distract us from the abundant joy and simple beauties that surround us every day.

Practicing daily gratitude has been shown to improve health, happiness, and to make us more resilient. It can also increase energy, enthusiasm, creativity, determination, and alertness, strengthen relationships, and reduce stress. There are few of us who don’t long for something to increase our happiness and lessen our stress, but many of us fall prey to the pattern of “I’ll be happy when…” “I’ll be happy when I have more money… when winter gives way to sunshine… when I purchase that new outfit… when I …