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

― Eckhart Tolle

Gratitude is a buzz word that you may be hearing a lot recently. You might even be annoyed at how often you hear people talk about how important gratitude is. In that case, please try not to become annoyed at me.

The thing about gratitude is that it truly is magic. If you don’t believe me, I challenge you to start a daily gratitude practice and see what happens in your life. Not only is gratitude magical, but it’s the antidote to so many things. Feeling anxious? Try gratitude. Feeling depressed? Try gratitude. Feeling stressed and overwhelmed? Try gratitude. Yes, it’s pretty much like white vinegar: it helps with almost everything (but doesn’t smell bad).

Still don’t believe me?

Here are some of the known benefits of gratitude:

  • improves sleep quality
  • protects against illness
  • relieves pain
  • motivates you to exercise
  • improves emotional regulation
  • increases feelings of happiness
  • fosters hope for the future
  • reduces stress, burnout, and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • increases resilience
  • opens the door to more relationships
  • improves physical health
  • improves psychological health
  • enhances empathy and reduces aggression
  • improves self-esteem
  • increases mental strength

Does all of this sound a little too “woo woo” to you? You might be surprised to know that there is a ton of scientific research into gratitude and the effects it has on our minds and bodies. Here are some of the scientific things we know about gratitude:

  • it boosts the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine (involved in happiness and pleasure)
  • it causes synchronized activation in multiple brain regions, and lights up parts of the brain’s reward pathways and the hypothalamus
  • it lowers cortisol (stress hormone)
  • it smooths heart rhythms, which are indicators of cardiovascular efficiency and nervous-system balance

Still reluctant to use gratitude to change your life? I will leave you with one last fun factoid. We know that gratitude actually vibrates at 540 MHz. This happens to be the exact same vibration as love and is one of the highest frequencies that the human body can experience. The more you gratitude you bring into your life, the higher you can raise your body’s frequency, and the more abundance that you will attract into your life.

Interested to find out if gratitude could transform your life? There are thousands of gratitude practices and meditations available online. Here is one I like that only takes 12 minutes. I encourage you to try it out everyday for 21-40 days and see what magic happens!