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Each night at the dinner table, Portland, Oregon–based writer Jessica Spiegel, her boyfriend and his daughter share three positive things about their day. They started this practice six

years ago, and the ritual, says Spiegel, has not only sparked conversations they might not have had but also has made them feel more optimistic during the monotonous quarantine days.

"Our dinnertime ritual has remained a constant for so many years now that it's hard to pinpoint what impact it has had during this whole quarantine, except that it would be very

easy to go down the negative rabbit hole and forget anything good is happening at all if we didn't still go through the routine,” she says. START A DAILY MEDITATION HABIT According to

Lynne Goldberg, one of the country's leading meditation teachers and the founder of the meditation app Breethe, consistent daily meditation has numerous and profound effects on mental

and physical well-being. "One of the techniques we teach is how to stay present, rather than get swept away by anxious thoughts about the future. There is so much uncertainty right now,

and none of us can predict what will happen,” she says. “But, what we do know, and what we can learn to consider, is that at this moment right now, there is a lot more that is OK with us

than there is wrong." KEEP TRACK OF THE LITTLE THINGS There are countless ways to kick-start your daily gratitude attitude, including writing in a journal, sneaking notes into your

spouse's sock drawer and texting photos of the flowers in the garden to your children and grandchildren. Or do as Elizabeth Rees of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, does and keep tabs on your

daily gifts on the Oh So Grateful chart, a daily tracker she keeps in her infant daughter's bedroom. "At first, it was actually a bit hard to remember to do it, or sometimes I

would feel overwhelmed by what to write, but now we are in a groove and it feels great,” Rees says. My daughter is still little and doesn't understand yet, but I know that my mood and

energy directly affects my patience, my creativity and my ability to be a good role model for her." getty images THE ART OF SAYING THANKS — IN WRITING In 2016, the year of her 50th

birthday, author Nancy Davis Kho wrote 50 thank-you letters to people who had helped, shaped or inspired her. Her gratitude journey is documented in her 2019 book, _The Thank-You Project.

_We asked her to share some of her best advice for writing therapeutic thank-you notes. WHOM TO WRITE TO? “Start with a list of people who have helped, shaped or inspired you in a positive

way. I started with family and close friends. My first two letters were to my parents, then in their 80s. Later in my project, as I honed my ‘gratitude muscle,’ I was able to find gratitude

for even the negative relationships.” WHAT TO SAY? “Pick a person to think about for a week. How have they helped/shaped/changed you specifically? How are you a different person because you

know them? What kind of problem would you call this person to help you with? Then start writing.” TIP: KEEP A COPY “I typed my letters on the computer, so it was easy to keep a copy of each.

I bound all those letters together at the end of the project, and it’s something I return to again and again as a reminder of all the various ways I’ve been held up and supported in my

life.”