Most of us have so many reasons to be grateful – family, friends, a roof over our head and food on the table. And it pays to focus intentionally on the feeling of gratitude. Scientific research shows that people who spend more time in the state of gratitude are happier, and that happier people are more likely to achieve their personal and professional goals.

Not only does practicing gratitude make you happier and more successful, it can actually improve your health. The American Heart Association advises its readers that the practice of gratitude can improve blood pressure and enhance immune function. The AMA also notes that people who focus on gratitude tend to have other positive habits, such as healthy diet and exercise, and are less likely to smoke or abuse alcohol.

Practicing Gratitude

There are simple ways to practice gratitude. One way is to make a habit of creating a list of things for which you are grateful. If you succeed in making it a daily habit, you could go back to your old lists in times of discouragement and see how much you have to be thankful for.

A recent article out of Harvard Medical School reviews the scientific research that proves gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with an individual’s greater happiness. People who purposely acknowledge and express their gratitude feel more positive emotions, are better able to relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity more successfully and build stronger relationships. All these benefits increase your chances to succeed as you strive to become better at what you do.

Take Concrete Action

Writing down your reasons for gratitude helps you focus on the good in your life; many of the good things in life are the people in it. The truth is that if you want to be successful, you need help from people around you. A good way to practice gratitude is to acknowledge the benefits of collaboration in your workplace.  

Quite simply, gratitude is the secret to transforming your day into a victorious one that results in more opportunities for you to advance in life.

If you’d like to read more of my tips to maximize the benefit of gratitude in your life, visit Medium for the full text. And help me spread positivity by sharing and shouting out to me on Twitter.