I hope you had a great Thanksgiving with family, friends, and food! I also hope you're NOT making yourself feel guilty for enjoying larger portions, treats, and drinks. I promise you, one day isn't going to derail your progress. Enjoy the holidays and just continue to focus on the basics.

Given the holiday season, I want to take a moment to discuss the power of gratitude because it has many benefits that you might not have known about. Expressing gratitude can benefit your personality, mentality, and even health.

Gratitude makes us:

1. Less materialistic - turns what we have into enough, and more.

2. More optimistic - makes our memories happier, creating a sense of fulfillment.

3. Less self-centered - we focus on the acts of others/for others and not our own.

Philip Watkins, who has a Ph. D in Clinical Psychology, researches how gratitude enhances wellbeing. He conducted a study where students were split up into two groups. One group was asked to write down what they were thankful for over the summer and the other group was asked to write down what they wish they did over the summer. In this experiment, results showed simple gratitude improves mood more than wishing what you did.

The point of sharing this study with you is that 2021 was filled with ups and downs and when you reflect on the year, it is important to be thankful for every memory and opportunity instead of wishing for what you did.

Other studies show people who make a simple list of what they’re thankful for, sleep 30 minutes more per night, and exercise 33% more each week than those who don’t. The benefits of gratitude may include less stress, more joy, improved sleep, faster recovery from illness, and more fulfilling relationships. All of these things are directly correlated to living a healthy lifestyle so why wouldn't you practice something so simple to benefit you and the ones around you.

We all have someone or something to be grateful for and as we continue through the holiday season practice it. Take mental notes of things you're grateful for you and express your gratitude to the ones who mean the most.

I'm thankful for you and your support and it means the world to me. I'm thankful for my family, friends, health, and the life I get to live every day.

Thank you for reading and as always if you have any questions reach out at any time!

Paul