For many of us, we spend the year thinking about what we want and what's next. It isn't until the holiday season rolls around that we are reminded to think about what we are grateful for in our lives and how we can express our thoughts of gratitude. However, showing thanks for everything that you have shouldn't be relegated to once-a-year. According to Bob Emmons, Ph.D., and professor of psychology at the University of California, "gratitude, is the cardinal moral emotion that promotes cooperation and makes our society civil and kind, and is the feeling of reverence for things that are given."

The great thing about gratitude is that it can be learned, and it’s possible to cultivate a gratitude mindset that will stick with you throughout the year. Developing a gratitude mindset can help to lower levels of envy, depression, and anxiety as well as increase your overall optimism and well-being. In fact, research conducted at the University of California, found gratitude can give you the power to heal, gain more energy, and change lives.

Showing gratitude can prove to have enormous benefits on your quality of life. In fact, gratitude may be one of the most overlooked tools that you have access to every day. Cultivating gratitude doesn't cost you any money, and it doesn't take a lot of your time, but the benefits you receive from cultivating gratitude into your daily life are enormous.

When you can make being grateful a daily habit, you will be able to feel genuine joy and contentment in your life, no matter what you have or don’t have. Plus, being grateful will naturally attract more into your life that you can show gratitude toward.

When you take time to express heartfelt appreciation for something or for someone in your life, it will boost your spirit, passion, and purpose. It will help to build your self-confidence and self-esteem and can give you the energy and motivation to achieve greatness.