Why Gratitude Makes You a Happier Person

Sure, we all know that showing gratitude can improve employee morale and spread the joy, but could it also improve your own levels of happiness? Actually, it can. Turns out, the old adage about counting your blessings is more than just a piece of trite advice — there’s some science to back it up.

A number of studies have shown that being grateful can actually improve how a person feels and how they deal with adversity in a number of ways. According to a handful of studies, employing methods that increase gratitude can:

Increase Resiliency — Showing gratitude and reviewing past moments of happiness actually makes people happier and better able to handle setbacks when they do occur.

Improves Relationships — Being kind to others and acknowledging their work with gratitude not only improves personal relationships, but it can help with making the workplace a better place, too. This, in turn, improves employee morale.

Gives YOU More Control —Shifting your focus makes you feel more in control of your emotions, instead of the other way around.

So how can you put all this scientific research to work on the daily? There are a few different strategies you can use:

Embrace the Sad Times — Gratitude can’t exist without times when the opposite is true. If you’re feeling a bit less than grateful, take a moment to think about the truly worst times in your life — this exercise lends perspective on reasons why you should be grateful today.

Start a Gratitude Journal — This is basically an updated version of “counting your blessings”. But keeping a journal of moments when you feel grateful can be a useful tool when it becomes hard to see the silver lining.

Be Actively Grateful — Don’t be shy about offering a word of thanks and appreciation to others. You’ll find the gesture is contagious.

Incorporating these into your daily routine can help you spot the bright spots, keep you motivated and make you more adaptive when tough times roll around. And those are traits that come in handy to business owners across every industry, field and discipline.