One of my favorite talks from the Intuit Connect conference this year was from Australian Big Wave Surfer Mark Matthews. He talked about how cultivating an emotional state of gratitude has many beneficial physiological affects. From decreased stress, to improved immune function, to a strengthening of relationships.
He shared his favorite technique to practice, the gratitude text. “The act of writing and sending a text message of gratitude to someone in your life can shift your nervous system from an anxious sympathetic state into a parasympathetic state which optimizes your immune system and ability to recover from stress. And this text message that you send then makes the person who receives the text feel the gratitude. More often than not that person will send a message of gratitude back, creating a Wave Of Gratitude.” You can check out more on his site.
What a great way to not only practice gratitude, but to share it with the people you are so grateful for!