Did you know your sense of gratitude can change your brain?

Taking time to prioritize and practice gratitude on a regular basis is scientifically shown to change brain activity over time and give us a greater sense of feeling successful and overall, improving our quality of life.

Cultivating gratitude isn’t just something your mom’s been harping on since you were in grade school. It’s a game-changer.

Research shows that this powerful emotion can heighten health, happiness, and productivity — at home and in the workplace. Feeling and expressing gratitude positively influences our emotions and health, and can inspire those results in others.

Studies have also shown that managers who expressed gratitude to their employees generated 50 percent higher productivity.

As you begin to cultivate gratitude, here are four quick tips for cultivating it and building a culture of appreciation:

1. Keep a daily gratitude journal. Research suggests that spending just five minutes per day writing down what you’re grateful for can increase your sense of well-being by about 10 percent. And you’ll start to train your mind to notice things to be grateful for throughout the day

2. Buy a box of thank you cards and send them out regularly. Have a team member who went above and beyond? A friend who helped you through a tough situation? Sit down and write them a note. This practice will help you relive what you appreciate and make others feel more fulfilled. Through expressing gratitude, we can inspire happier, more positive emotions in others.

3. Find ways to discuss what you appreciate about your colleagues. It may sound obvious, but celebrating your fellow team members both lifts them up and inspires them to continue doing the good stuff. You could publicly thank people in meetings, or send a “Thanks so much for your help” email, or simply mention what you appreciate in conversation. Feeling and expressing gratitude creates a ripple effect of more health, happiness, and effectiveness in the office and at home.

4. Make it an organizational value and habit. Our team at System & Soulᵀᴹ holds a value we call “breathe the air.” What we mean by that is we value approaching our work with a deep appreciation for what we are privileged to do. Even when it sucks, when the “stuff” hits the fan, or when we’re just having a bad day, we are grateful. We reinforce this value on a weekly basis by sharing at the beginning of our meetings how we see each other living out this value and others. What we believe this does, is continually demonstrate appreciation for one another and the work we’re doing—whatever it may be. If this resonates with you and your team, maybe consider how you can make gratitude practice a part of your organizational habits.

Gratitude is good, and it has plenty of positive effects. It may also be what helps get us through the last miles of whatever challenges we’re facing. Staying present, being attentive to others and appreciating all we have can help us get to the finish line.