The research from the last several years has proven that increasing the amount of gratitude in your life can have a profound effect on your level of happiness. Dozens of studies have lined up participants to write in gratitude journals and deliver gratitude letters.

In my own personal journey to being happier, I have delivered several gratitude letters and I began writing in a gratitude journal on a nightly basis several years ago. These exercises have increased my overall well being and the journal has been part of my daily ritual. After writing in my journal, I find it much easier to fall asleep and I have a better appreciation for what is ‘going right’ in my life (even after the worst of days).

Several days ago, however, I had an experience that made me exercise my strength of gratitude in a new way. I was brushing my one of my son’s teeth just before bed and he wouldn’t stand still. I had several hours of work in front of me after a very long day and my patience was at its end. Then, it dawned on me that I wouldn’t be brushing his teeth much longer, nor would he need a stool to see himself in the mirror. I focused on the smell of his hair, the scar on his ear, the very small patch of hair on his head that won’t grow because of the electrode stuck his head while he was being born, his blue beautiful blue eyes, and his uncontrollable goofiness.

Needless to say, my anxiety about work and the rough day left me immediately. So, while I continue to deliver gratitude letters and write in my gratitude journal every night, I have begun to scan my days for ways to be more grateful in the moment instead of waiting to write it down. It’s a great stress reliever and I now look at the temper tantrums, the interruptions at work, and the ever-expanding to-do list as things to be grateful for every day.

What are some things that occur in your daily life that might benefit from a moment of gratitude?

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