Thanksgiving is when most people are forced to think of some stuff that they feel grateful for. You always have that one person at the table who’s saying, “Ok, now let’s go around and say something you feel grateful for.” And you’re all like thinking, “SHUT THE FUCK UP, THERE ARE MASHED POTATOES ON MY PLATE, I CAN’T THINK OF ANYTHING, EXCEPT THOSE MASHED POTATOES.”

Well, that person at the table is right. Gratitude can change you, alter your state, make you happier. Check out this study from USC’s Dornsife Brain & Creativity Institute. 

I’m not going to come to your house and force you to think about what you’re grateful for (although I would if there just weren’t so many of you), but I would like to prod you a little to make it part of the other 364 days a year, when there aren’t mashed potatoes on your plate.