Every other guru is spouting off about gratitude lately. Am I right?!? So of course I had to figure out what the heck everyone was so hyped up about. Don’t get me wrong, i’m thankful. I have a house and dogs and a husband… and I am ever so grateful for what I have now compared to what I USED to have, which was NOTHING!!! So I am TOTALLY grateful. But I never thought about writing it down or focusing on it or spending every waking moment meditating on it. That just wasn’t me.

But finally I literally just wanted to know what the big deal was and why people say your “life will be changed drastically in 30 days if you write down your gratitude list every day.” Will it? Really?

So here’s what I found. It really does truly and amazingly and scientifically benefit you. Who knew?

So here’s the list of 5 benefits and why the hippies were right and its not hokey. 

1. Improved social comfort. It actually makes people like us more. It increases the success of our relationships, increases support, and even decreases stress and sadness. 
2. It makes us more optimistic. And this leads to greater happiness. (Optimistic people are actually naturally happier, mentally stronger, and live longer! Wow! Who knew!)
3. Reduces the focus on material objects. I guess if we are happy with what we have, we don’t need as much crap. Yeah!
4. It makes us more giving. It even helps with our work environment, making us less impatient and improves our personal SKILLZ.
5. It increases our psychological health. It creates better self-esteem, reduces jealousy and enhances the happy emotions and makes us stand up better to criticism and suicidal ideas. It also can cancel out anxious feelings and sadness. Wow!
6. It creates higher energy levels, improves our self-love and even gives a greater likelihood that we may exercise and eat better. WHAT?!?
7. It improves our emotional and academic intelligence. So it helps us recognize and deal with our emotions better and makes us smarter. Ummm… YES PLEASE!!!

So there you have it. 7 reasons to start your daily gratitude practice and take better care of yourself. Do you love this?!? Tell me… are you going to think more about what you are grateful for? I know I am!!!