Being grateful is one of the strongest experiences that you can cultivate for yourself. Tony Robbins is credited with popularizing the idea that you cannot harbor anger or hate and gratitude at the same time. Our minds can’t simultaneously experience these polar energies.

We’ve all seen the lists of things that we can do to cultivate more gratitude. We can journal, we can reach out to people to express our gratitude and visualize experiences we’re grateful for, among other exercises.

Regardless of how we express gratitude, being in states of gratitude will transform us. It will make changes in how we experience ourselves, how we view other people and the world and even shift how other people see us. All of these positives will translate into our businesses, our families and our fulfillment & happiness.

Here’s how gratitude works and why it’s vital to success.

Transforms how we see ourselves 

Our self-perception is influenced by the amount of negative stress – or distress – that we experience vs the amount of positive emotions that we experience. Studies show that gratitude releases the stress hormones that affect our attitude at the same time increases our positive emotions & feelings.

The effects at the hormone level have positive impacts on our mood, motivation, self-esteem. We believe things are more possible than more impossible.

Other studies have shown that gratitude practices shift the amount of burnout we experience. Imagine how we might show up at work if we didn’t see ourselves as burned out. Our grit & resiliency would rise for sure.

Transforms how we see others

Shawn Achor, one of the most lauded researchers around the science of happiness, says that a sustained gratitude practice changes our perception of the world around us. He says we literally see more positive than we see negative.

Therefore, we see people more favorably. We’ll default to what people bring to the table as opposed to where they fall short.

When we scan our environment and look for what is good, the people in our sight lines will receive the benefit of what we are looking for.

Transforms how others see us

If you’re tracking so far, you’re in agreement on what gratitude does for us and how we view ourselves and the world. We show up with more positivity and see that in others generally speaking.

So, how does that relate to how others see us? The process of affective contagion explains that our emotions, energy and moods are spread to other people we encounter.

A 2021 study shows that how people speak and how people perform interpersonal actions, like giving someone an object, light up the parts of our brain associated with our emotions. As example, when people in the study spoke in and acted in rude tones, the recipients mirrored their emotions in response.

We can extrapolate that at the unconscious level, our attitudes and moods are felt by others and affect how they view us. When we are bent more towards positivity, through gratitude, people near us will have a more positive outlook on us.

Gratitude is one of the easiest and most reliable exercises to create massive positive effects for you and the people around you. Plus, you’ll possess the energy, mindset and ability to influence others to help you achieve all the goals you have.

Be grateful. I am grateful for you.