My alarm clock didn’t go off. No hot water in the shower. I’d run out of coffee (gasp!). And to top it all off… my “fat pants” were feeling a bit snug — aaaaaauuuuggghhhhhh! This was shaping up to be a miserable morning, and my 12-hour shift hadn’t even begun!
I heard my phone chime and my heart skipped a beat. Had I gotten my times mixed up — was I late for work? I snatched my phone off the table and saw the text:
“I just wanted to remind you how amazing you are and how grateful I am that you’re in my life.”
My eyes got teary and my heart swelled. My sister, also a busy healthcare professional, and three time zones away, had taken 30 seconds out of her busy schedule to share her gratitude. It changed the course of my entire day and reshaped my life.
Studies have shown that one way to increase your happiness setpoint is to practice gratitude. Studies vary slightly in their findings, but in a nutshell, writing down three things daily will raise your level of happiness more than writing down a list of items you're grateful for weekly. Sharing your gratitude or appreciation with another person boosts your happiness even more!
And get this — in one study, people who focused on gratitude rather than hassles felt more optimistic about their future…
