By Margaret Sikowitz LAc MFT

As we enter the season of gratitude, a conversation I’m having regularly (sometimes just with myself!) focuses on the importance of being grateful. The biological, social, and emotional upsides are indisputable.

The act of showing appreciation lights up parts of our brain connected to empathy and emotional regulation. These areas are activated when we feel grateful. The more we express our gratitude, the more habitual it becomes. Like weight training at the gym, by repeatedly practicing gratitude, we build the ‘muscle,’ or, more accurately, the neural pathway, that can improve our mood.

Showing gratitude extends beyond the literal act of saying thanks; appreciating something beautiful, finding joy, the sheer act of delighting all count! By ‘going positive,’ we help reduce some of the uncomfortable feelings that come with recurring negative thought patterns.

There’s an abundance of scientific evidence that demonstrates this – MRIs and blood tests among them.  By engaging in even the smallest acts of kindness, observing something that brings a smile or expressing appreciation toward others, we enhance our ability to manage stress and improve our mood.

Interestingly, gratitude is both a feeling and a practice. There’s a wide range of ways to engage in a gratitude practice. If you want to lean in big to a regular gratitude practice, consider daily journaling, actively keeping inventory of the good things in your life, both large and small.

If that feels too daunting or time consuming, fear not — there are so many ways to develop this habit. Consider random and spontaneous acts of ‘happy noticing,’ which count toward this neural pathway development. Spotting a pretty cloud in the sky, a gargoyle on a building, the speed with which your food delivery arrives, a parking spot that opens just when you need – it all light up those pathways!  No observation is too small when you’re working on developing this way of thinking. The neural tracks and the habit grow in response to any amount of positive feedback.

Give it a whirl, before and after this one random Thursday in November.