What are you grateful for in this moment?
Every Thanksgiving, people reflect on what they’re most thankful for. This tradition can actually rewire your brain, and giving thanks year-round has tremendous benefits for your brain and body.
Gratitude is an appreciation of what is meaningful to you.
You can train yourself to constantly be thankful for the little things in life.
Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for. – Zig Ziglar
Your hypothalamus is the part of your brain that regulates critical bodily functions like your appetite. A National Institutes of Health study found that when you express kindness or feel gratitude, your hypothalamus floods your brain with dopamine. This gives you a natural high, motivating you to do good and express gratitude even more.
UCLA’s Mindful Awareness Research Center found that regularly expressing gratitude changes the molecular structure of your brain, keeps your gray matter functioning, and makes you healthier and happier.
Keep a daily gratitude journal.
Practice telling others you appreciate them.
Look in the mirror.
Practice mindfulness.
Reduce judgment.