The moment I read the words, “Nothing is either good or bad, but thinking makes it so,” while reading Hamlet in high school, my life changed. It changed because it surfaced to my consciousness that we all have the power to control the way we perceive virtually everything that happens to us (I say virtually because there are some things that will be devastating to us no matter how positive we try to be). This was eye-opening, because I had traveled through my youth thinking that external factors really controlled how we felt. I was generally always a happy person, but when something bad happened, I often felt like I didn’t have much control over it, and I just had to wait until it passed.

But, this simple idea had a profound impact on me because it made me see that, if you make an effort to be self-aware and conscious of what you are experiencing, you can influence how you experience every moment in life. We can choose to view things with the dark sunglasses of negativity, or some sweet shades of positivity. The only real question is which pair will we decide put on in the moment.

This mind shift can have a massive impact on how happy we are. However, sometimes it can be a hard habit to cultivate because it only really works if it is done on a daily basis and that is what motivated me to create FiveDailyGratitudes.com, an online community gratitude journal that helps people integrate the power of gratitude into their life by providing a quick and easy way to list five things you are thankful for each day.

Why I first started FiveDailyGratitudes.com
People usually write daily gratitudes in a paper journal, but I wanted a method that I could do from anywhere in the world. I didn’t want to forget to write them down on paper, or forget my journal somewhere. So, I decided to start the website to list my five daily gratitudes each day.

However, I quickly realized that this was something that could benefit many other people, especially during today’s anxious economic times where it is easy to focus on all of the current negativity. So, I decided to do a little psychological experiment: I opened up the site, so anyone can share the things they are thankful for on a given day.

Over the past year, hundreds have signed up, and while not everyone lists their five daily gratitudes publicly (some simply like getting the daily email reminder with my own five daily gratitudes), tons of people have written me saying they write them down on their own, and that it has made a huge difference in their lives. I am so appreciative that I can share this simple tool with everyone and that it is making a difference in peoples’ lives.

Now, to the Psychology of It All
Why is it important to integrate gratitude and appreciation into our life? UC Davis psychologist Robert Emmons points out, “The evidence that cultivating gratefulness is good for you is overwhelming. Gratitude is quality that we should aspire to as a part and parcel of personal growth…Specifically, we have shown that gratitude is positively related to such critical outcomes as life satisfaction, vitality, happiness, self-esteem, optimism, hope, empathy, and willingness to provide emotional and tangible support for other people, whereas being ungrateful is related to anxiety, depression, envy, materialism, and loneliness.

Collectively, such studies present credible evidence that feeling grateful generates a ripple effect through every area of our lives, potentially satisfying our deepest yearnings – our desire for happiness, our pursuit of better relationships, and our ceaseless quest for inner peace, wholeness, and contentment. Gratitude is more, through than a tool for self-improvement. Gratitude is a way of life.”

But, it is important that we make it a daily habit. Emmons has demonstrated in his research, “The important thing is to establish the daily habit of paying attention to gratitude-inspiring events; a daily regimen is what is required. The act of writing them down translates your thoughts into words. Psychological research has shown that translating thoughts into concrete language – words, whether oral or written – had advantages over just thinking the thoughts. Writing helps to organize thoughts and facilitate integrating, and also helps you accept your own experiences and put them in context. In essence, it allows you to see the meaning of events going on around you and create meaning in your own life.”

What should you be grateful for?
This is up to you. Occasionally, it will be big things like getting a new job, a promotion, or completing a new project. However, most of the time, you can list smaller things like getting a good night’s sleep, watching the sunrise reflect off your wall, talking to a good friend the night before, enjoying an article in a magazine, eating at your favorite restaurant, or enjoying how good you feel after a morning shower. The key is to be mindful of everything that is good in your life – be it big or small – and making a conscious effort to increase your awareness about this gratefulness.

I can’t think of five things to be grateful for!
At first you may feel self-conscious when you first start writing out five daily gratitudes. It may even be a bit difficult to come up with five, but it will get easier and easier the more often you do it. I actually thought about only listing three, but I want us to push ourselves a bit so we can be mindful and make a conscious effort to discover things we can be grateful for on even the most ordinary of days. If it was too easy, it would not bring enough meaning and impact into our lives, so five is a good goal to shoot for. If you want to learn more about how you can get started using Five Daily Gratitudes, visit the Get Started section.