Gratitude: Does it make you happier?

According to positive psychology, did you know that showing gratitude actually makes you a happier person? It's true!

For one, grateful thinking promotes the savoring of positive life experiences. It's like the saying, "enjoy the little things". If you take pleasure in the small gifts of life, you will be able to extract the maximum possible satisfaction from your current situation. Also, expressing gratitude, that will bolster your self-worth and self-esteem.

Gratitude is an attitude and way of living that has been shown to have many benefits in terms of health, happiness, satisfaction with life, and the way we relate to others. It goes hand in hand with mindfulness in its focus on the present and appreciation for what we have now, rather than wanting more and more.

I'm all for more happiness, so here are 2 things I'm grateful for right now.

First, my health. With 2020 behind us, I'm thankful for having my health and being able to say, "I beat COVID!"

Yup, I had it back around Thanksgiving and I was one of the lucky ones. It didn't affect me too bad and we got through it ok. Now, I look forward to 2021 and hopefully getting a few things back to normal. Or the new normal, whatever that means.

Second, my livelihood. I was thankful to have a full-time job that supported me through the pandemic and still is today. Then having my virtual assistant clients that were able to push through the pandemic as well, I'm extremely grateful.

I'm going to throw in the third one, just because it's so important. I'm so, so grateful for my family. Both immediate and extended. 2020 was HARD, super hard! Everyone suffered one way or another, but I wouldn't have been able to get through it without my family by my side. We did it together.

As we head into the uncertain year of 2021, I look forward to the added obstacles and growing my virtual assistant business to the fullest. Here we go 2021, bring it!