There was a time when I felt overwhelmed, negative, and stuck in survival mode. As a mom, PhD candidate, and now a U.S. Navy sailor, I carried stress daily—always pushing, but rarely pausing to appreciate where I was. Gratitude didn’t just shift my mood—it rewired my mindset. Practicing gratitude gave me peace, focus, and resilience, allowing me to show up as a stronger leader, mother, and woman.
My Breaking Point
Even with discipline from my academic and military training, I often felt weighed down by anxiety and self-doubt. I knew how to push through, but I didn’t know how to slow down and reframe my perspective. That’s when I turned to gratitude—not as a trendy practice, but as a lifeline.
The biggest change came when I paired gratitude with faith practices through the Hallow App. It gave me space to pray, reflect, and meditate daily. Those quiet moments helped me see my life with new eyes and reminded me that strength comes from within and above.
Why Gratitude Works (Backed by Science)
The science on gratitude is clear: it’s not just “feel-good fluff”—it literally changes the brain and body.
- A 2023 systematic review and meta-analysis of 64 randomized clinical trials found that gratitude interventions led to measurable benefits, including:
- Greater life satisfaction (+6.8%)
- Better mental health (+5.8%)
- Reduced anxiety (–7.7%)
- Reduced depression (–6.9%)
- Neuroscience research further confirms that gratitude activates reward pathways in the brain. According to PositivePsychology.com, gratitude engages regions linked with dopamine and serotonin—the “feel-good” neurotransmitters—which explains why regular practice boosts mood and resilience.
- Gratitude also strengthens social bonds and empathy, supporting mental health and building stronger relationships (PositivePsychology.com).
In other words, gratitude doesn’t just make you “feel better”—it creates lasting neurological changes that support emotional well-being.
How I Practiced Gratitude
I started small. Every day, I wrote down three things I was grateful for—sometimes big things, like my daughters’ laughter, and sometimes simple ones, like a cup of coffee in peace. Over time, those lists shifted how I saw my life.
Two tools anchored me:
- 📔 Gratitude Journaling – My daily lists and reflections became the foundation for my mindset. Eventually, I created a 30-Day Gratitude Journal to help others build the same practice.
- 📱 Hallow App – Hallow gave me guided prayers, meditations, and scripture-based reflections. On days when my energy was low or my mind was scattered, the app grounded me in faith and reminded me to shift from stress to gratitude.
Together, these practices didn’t just track gratitude—they trained me to live it.
My Mindset Transformation
The changes were undeniable:
- I became less reactive and more present.
- Stress felt manageable instead of overwhelming.
- My perspective shifted from scarcity (“not enough”) to abundance (“look at what I already have”).
Gratitude didn’t erase my challenges—but paired with tools like Hallow, it gave me the strength and peace to face them with purpose.
Lessons I Learned
- Gratitude turns problems into perspective. Even when life felt heavy, gratitude reminded me to look for the blessings in front of me.
- Mindset is built, not given—you train it daily. Writing down three things a day and using tools like the Hallow App kept me consistent.
- Gratitude paired with faith is powerful. The Hallow App reminded me that gratitude isn’t just about looking inward, but also upward.
- Extreme Ownership changes everything. Jocko Willink teaches that you must own everything in your world. For me, that meant taking ownership of my mindset. Gratitude became more than a feeling—it was a choice and a responsibility. I couldn’t always control my circumstances, but I could control how I showed up. That shift turned me from feeling like a victim of my stress into the leader of my own life.
How You Can Start
If you’re ready to shift your mindset:
- Start with writing down 3 things daily.
- Use apps like Hallow for guided gratitude reflections and faith-based practices.
- Pair gratitude with ownership: don’t just notice blessings—decide how you’ll act because of them.
- Grab my free 30-Day Gratitude Journal and commit to building your practice one day at a time.
Final Thoughts
Gratitude didn’t just make me happier—it reshaped my thinking, lowered my stress, and gave me the resilience to handle life’s weight. But here’s the key: gratitude works best when it’s paired with ownership.
I had to stop waiting for life to get easier and start owning how I responded to it. Jocko Willink calls this Extreme Ownership—and for me, that meant choosing gratitude even when it was hard, even when circumstances weren’t ideal.
Gratitude gave me perspective. Ownership gave me power. Together, they gave me freedom.
If I can build this mindset while raising kids, finishing a PhD, and serving in the Navy—you can too. Your circumstances don’t have to change for your life to transform. Sometimes all it takes is choosing gratitude and owning your response.
References & Resources
📄 Scientific Studies
- The Effects of Gratitude Interventions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Diniz et al., 2023).
👉 Download the PDF here
👉 View on PubMed - The Neuroscience of Gratitude and Its Effects on the Brain
👉 Read on PositivePsychology.com
📱 Apps I Recommend
- Hallow App (prayer + meditation)
- Notes/Gratitude Journal
💡 Free Resource for You
If you want to learn more about the mindset of ownership that transformed my life, I highly recommend reading Extreme Ownership.
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