It’s the time of year when we (in the U.S., anyway) pause briefly from our hectic schedules to contemplate the people, experiences, and things we are most grateful for.
It’s important to do—not just annually, but regularly–because gratitude is highly correlated with happiness. According to researchers at Harvard Medical School:
“In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.”
In short, if you want to be happy, focus on being grateful.
When I think of what’s most important to me, what I’m most grateful for, for some reason I think of words starting with “F” in groups of three. I even thought of titling this post “Three F-ing Things I’m Grateful For” but figured people might take that the wrong way.