Skimming through your social media feeds during the holiday season, especially the week of Thanksgiving, you might think that every one of your peers is constantly brimming with joy and thankfulness due to their countless blessings.  But, let’s be honest, this is only a once-annual occurrence for most people.  Thanks to the obligatory status updates and bombardment of turkey day marketing, we’re all reminded that it’s time to express our gratitude.

Over-commercialism and Hallmark-ism aside, I think it’s great to have a national holiday in which we are encouraged to be thankful for what we have and those around us.  The tradition of sharing this day with family over a large meal is one I truly enjoy (in particular, the socially acceptable binge eating), and I’m sure I’m not the only one that really looks forward to it.  However, there is mounting evidence showing that expressing gratitude regularly has a profound impact on overall health and happiness. Perhaps giving thanks should be a daily ritual as opposed to a yearly tradition (minus the food coma).