A little gratitude can go a long way. When you do something nice for someone, it's always nice to be thanked. And if a stranger opens the door for you at the store, you probably say thank you to him or her. Now, if you were going to the store with your significant other and he or she opened the door, would you say thank you? Maybe, maybe not.

While this may be a simple act and example, it highlights the point that we often fail to express our gratitude to those most important to us. Why? Maybe we feel like they know we're grateful. However, showing and expressing gratitude on a daily basis creates happier and healthier relationships.

Gratitude is a good habit to develop and it may be one of the most important parts of a romantic relationship. The more you practice showing and expressing gratitude daily, the more it will become second nature for you to do so. How exactly does gratitude help a relationship?

Expressing gratitude can help deepen the communal strength of your relationship, which refers to each partner's degree of motivation to respond to his/her partner's needs. As communal strength deepens, it creates a safer space within the relationship for each member to grow.

Because expressing gratitude creates a safer and more trusting space, it's natural that is also helps relationships during stressful times. Having a tighter, healthier relationship helps couples work through problems and issues with grace and love. Sometimes. issues in a relationship require forgiveness on one partner's part, and gratitude helps set the stage and pave the way for forgiveness.

If you don't feel like you or your partner are expressing daily gratitude as well as you could, try taking a moment every day to tell and show your partner why you appreciate them. It feels good to show and receive gratitude!

The positive impact of gratitude goes beyond your marriage and personal relationships too. Showing gratitude in the workplace can have a profound impact on you and your colleagues' relationships at work. If you are a manager or business owner, gratitude is even more important, as it can have an enormous impact not ust on your relationships, but on your paycheck and/or your bottom line. Perhaps you've heard the quote, "not every productive employee is appreciated, but every appreciated employee is productive". A massive study of 19 million employees backed up this quote- it found the most important factor when it comes to motivating employees is employee appreciation. Even a simple "thank you" can pay huge dividends in the workplace. Business owners already should know to treat their employees exactly as you want them to treat their customers. Happy employees equals happy customers.

It's safe to say that in almost every phase of your life, a little gratitude can go a long way. In this post you can learn how to spread a little kindness by saying thank you!