One of the most relevant predictors of how happy people are, how easily they make friends, and how good they are at dealing with hardship is gratitude.

Gratitude can mean different things to different people, depending on the context: it's a character trait, a virtue, a fe...

• Gratitude directly counteracts negative feelings and traits, like envy and social comparison, narcissism, cynicism, and materialism.
• People that are happy no matter what, tend to be happier and more satisfied; they have better relationships and eas...

The ability to experience more or less gratitude is not equally distributed.

We have what's known as trait gratitude, which determines how much we can feel it. It depends on genetics, personality, and culture.

The easiest gratitude exercise with the most solid research behind it is gratitude journaling. It involves sitting down for a few minutes, 1-3 times a week, and writing down 5 to 10things you are grateful for.

Participants in studies on gratitude journaling reported more h...

• When your brain recognizes that someone is doing something positive for you, it reacts with gratitude to motivate you to repay them.
• This gratitude makes you care about others and others care about you.
• It became an evolutionary ad...