Research findings are pretty clear about how feelings of gratitude and thankfulness affect us. A variety of benefits have been found to occur when we focus on those things for which we are grateful. Some of these benefits include better sleep quality, increased feelings of happiness, increased physical and psychological health, improved self-esteem, more hope for the future, improvements in friendships and other relationships, reduced blood pressure, help with recovery from substance misuse and even work-related benefits.

Gratitude can also help boost our resilience, which is the ability to put one foot in front of the other, even when life gets really hard. When we have an attitude of gratitude, we experience more positive feelings. These positive feelings can increase resilience.

We don’t have to wait until life is perfect – it never will be – to focus on gratitude. This is a great practice to begin now and continue all year, not just during the month of November or the holiday season. Practicing daily gratitude can increase positive emotions and lower the risk of depressive symptoms.

So, how we can we better focus on gratitude, even when we are going through tough times? One easy way is to think of five things we are grateful for first thing every morning and again right before going to bed at night. Many people write in a gratitude journal, adding to it every day, focusing on the positive events that happened. These journals are great because we can also go back and read about past blessings when we need a little pick-me-up. They can also serve as a personal history.

Writing thank-you notes is an easy way to think about what we are grateful for as well as thanking others for their kindnesses. While meditating, doing yoga or even sitting at a red light, we can think about or even count our blessings and the good things that have happened in our lives. Some experts say this quiet, grateful thinking can calm us down and make us feel more at peace.

Sharing on social media about things for which we are thankful can spread the important message to others. Recently, a friend whose family is going through some difficult trials wrote about being thankful for the sunny days that we have experienced. Yes, even when life is heavy, gratitude can lift us up.