“There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude. A quiet joy.” — Ralph H. Blum

By now you have heard people praising the power of gratitude. Yes, research is consistent that groups that reflected on what they are grateful for experienced more satisfaction, happiness and better health than groups that engaged in other reflections.

I have made it a part of my daily ritual to reflect on what I am grateful for and write it down as I start my day. What this does is train the reticular activating system (RAS) part of the brain to be on the lookout for what is going well. We are naturally predisposed to notice what is not going well. However, due to neuroplasticity, we can train our brains to focus on what is going well.

Have you ever noticed that when you decide to buy a certain car, or study a specific topic or even are considering having a baby that everywhere you go you see that type of car, that topic and even more babies. Yes, our RAS, helps us to sort out what we are focused on amid all the possible data.

When we focus on what we are grateful for, we begin to notice more things to be grateful for and we become open to more possibilities and insights. It is a useful habit to reflect on how much we do have.

Today, we need more of us to take an Open Stance and be grateful for what is going well. We will experience more well-being and positively influence others. We will have more energy for co-creating solutions that work for all.