With so much going on in our everyday lives, it can be easy to lose sight of what we are grateful for. Nevertheless, every year on Thanksgiving, we count our blessings and express gratitude toward our loved ones.
This year was a bit different than most—large family gatherings have been deemed unsafe and families weren’t able to hold the grand celebrations that they usually do. But that didn’t change the central purpose of Thanksgiving: giving thanks. While the current state of the world has given us a lot more to worry about, it has also put things into perspective. Among all we’ve lost, we still have so much to be grateful for. Pre-pandemic, I never counted little things, like anxiety-free trips to the grocery store, as blessings.
Expressing thanks to your family and loved ones can fill your Thanksgiving with good feelings of gratitude—and those positive emotions shouldn’t stop after the long weekend. Research shows that regularly practicing gratitude can improve physical and psychological health as well as provide other benefits like improved sleep and elevated self-esteem.
People most popularly practice gratitude successfully by keeping a daily gratitude journal. While every journal is different, these often include discussing happy moments in a person’s day, what they’re grateful for, and ways to make tomorrow better. Alternatively, I like to practice gratitude by simply taking a mental note of new things I’m thankful for throughout the day.
Over time, I’ve found that it has opened up my perspective to savoring the little things in life. Redirecting my thoughts to a place of gratitude has helped me to feel more at peace, especially during a pandemic.