My attitude of gratitude

My favorite holiday will be here soon. It’s Thanksgiving—the day when we give thanks for all that we have. But why keep it to just one day? Why not celebrate our own personal Thanksgiving every day?

For the past several years, I’ve been working on my “gratitude attitude.” At times, this has been a struggle because people are too often cynical and pessimistic. It’s a challenge not to get sucked into the same negative thinking.

Maybe it’s the times we live in. As rabbi Henry Glazer, author of I Thank, Therefore I Am: Gateways to Gratefulness, said: “(Gratitude) can be hard to master in a world obsessed with tragic events and negative messages.”

For years, psychologists thought people were born looking at the glass half full or half empty. I believed that, too. But a 2003 landmark study by Robert Emmons and Richard McCullough disproved the notion that we all have a “set-point” level of happiness that cannot be changed.

Gratitude plays a crucial role in our happiness. Through experiments, Emmons and McCullough discovered an intersection of gratitude and happiness. They found measurable psychological, interpersonal and physical benefits stemming from regularly practicing gratitude. Some subjects’ lives were transformed by this practice, and others noticed that change.

How can we develop a gratitude attitude and increase our

happiness? Practice mindfulness. Stay in the moment, and you’ll recognize an opportunity to practice gratitude.

Feel the appreciation. Focus on the specifics, and your gratitude will be more authentic instead of lip service.

Think small. You may never win the lottery, but you can be grateful for the seemingly inconsequential things in your life—the sun shining through the trees, or the sweet kiss from your toddler.

Meditate. It opens your mind to new ways of looking at the world. Meditating decreases moodiness and increases happiness, which can lead to feeling more grateful.

I’m no expert, but based on experience, consciously practicing gratitude can help you see the glass half full instead of half empty.