Gratitude is one of many emotions. We feel it when we focus on what good happens to us in life. Feeling grateful allows you to slow down, examine yourself and your surroundings, and appreciate what you often consider certain, obvious, and unchanging.

Our emotional state often goes hand in hand with our physical state. Paying attention to people, things, or events for whom we feel grateful can improve our well-being and have many benefits in the area of mental and physical health.

Gratitude, however, is not limited to thinking warmly about those aspects of life that have a positive effect on us. It is also an active act to show someone what we feel. Thanking someone, a small gift, helping someone, spending time together are just some of the ways we can show gratitude.

For some of us, feeling this emotion comes easier. Others may have some difficulty with this, and feel that their lives are so full of difficulties and challenges that there is no longer any room for gratitude or even the desire to notice certain things that are related to something good or positive. It turns out, however, that paying attention to happy events in life and small but pleasant things can be trained. In addition, there is a chance that we will improve our (and maybe others’) well-being.

Seeing the things we feel grateful for can become a beautiful ritual that deepens our family ties. Every day in the evening you can tell yourself what happened today that made you happy, helped, calmed you down, made you smile. Some families create a gratitude journal. Others place one piece of paper in a jar each day, with things written or drawn for which they are grateful. This seemingly not very demanding exercise has a lot of strength. Initially, finding the things that elicit our gratitude can be a difficult task. However, with the passage of time and practice, it becomes easier and easier, and our attention shifts to the things we enjoy.

Gratitude leads to positive action. When we feel grateful for someone else’s kindness towards us, we are more likely to be kind to us, and we are more likely to act that way towards those we meet. Your gratitude can also influence someone else’s actions, increasing the chance that someone will show kindness to others.

Gratitude helps us build better relationships with others. When we feel and express our sincere gratitude and appreciation for the people in our lives, we contribute to the deepening and strengthening of relationships and build trust.

However, there is something that effectively disrupts and hinders gratitude. It is pressure. Forcing yourself to feel grateful can increase your stress and make it harder to see the positive aspects of life. Sometimes it is so that the greatest success is simply surviving another difficult day. And then you can appreciate yourself for doing it. Because being grateful to yourself is as important as being grateful to others.