How often do you stop and think about the positive things that happened during the day? Or the good things that have happened in your life?

Making a habit of taking time to feel gratitude can help you cope with stress and maintain positive relationships. In fact, when practiced with intention, studies show that gratitude vitalizes our well-being by: (1) positively “rebooting” our mindset, (2) nurturing trusting relationships, (3) contributing to our sense of happiness, and (4) actually increasing our lifespan.

Here are a few ways you can create positive emotions that may, in turn, improve your overall social and emotional well-being:

• Make a visit. Tell someone you're grateful for them in person. Be specific. Instead of saying, “I’m grateful for family,” recall a specific moment. This helps your brain access real memories and experience gratitude.
• Journal. Write down things you’re grateful for each day. Try to list five new items daily. While this exercise requires finding small things to be grateful for, this is the point: to transform your perspective to see value in the everyday elements of life.
• Relive the good times. Make it a family habit during dinner table conversation or at bedtime to develop a regular practice of sharing positive moments and naming specific gratitudes with each other—and especially about each other!

By making gratitude a regular habit, it can help you recognize good things happening in your life and increase awareness of your positive feelings. For more ideas, check out these 10 Tips To Grow Gratitude & Improve Your Gratitude Attitude.

GCPS Student Wellness Screeners 

Starting in September, GCPS will administer a wellness screener to students in their classrooms. This short survey, (less than 10 minutes), will provide valuable insight into how students feel about their own wellbeing, their perception of how they fit in their school community, and how that impacts their academic success. Administered throughout the school year, this survey will help educators identify students who need support in specific behavioral, academic, or emotional areas. That will enable GCPS to provide each and every student with the help they need and create schools and classroom environments where each and every student knows they belong and can learn.