“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘Thank you,’ that would suffice.”

—Meister Eckhart

Do you keep a gratitude journal? Studies show that keeping one can increase our mental health up to 25%. How in the world could this be possible? How could the ritual of writing down three things that you are thankful for at the end of the day increase our mental health so much?

• Shifts our focus to the small daily blessings of the day. If we know we must record positive things at the end of the day, our subconscious mind watches for them throughout the day. What we look for is what we tend to see.

• Improves our relationships. Simply focusing on what we appreciate about friends and family , increases our sense of connection to them. You may have heard that “misery loves company” but the opposite is true, positive people want to spend time with other positive people, as you move into a lifestyle of gratitude you may make more connections with people in your world.

• Helps us live in the present. Anxiety and worry live in a world of what if. When we ruminate about things that might happen, we become so concerned with possible outcomes that we miss the blessings that are right in front of us. Daily gratitude grounds us in the present and highlights the simple blessings of the day.

“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life,is the foundation for all abundance.”–Eckhart Tolle