Being grateful for what you have now could make you richer in the future
It's pretty easy to get caught up in the things you want and don't have instead of enjoying what's right in front of you.
This mindset doesn't just apply to things, though.
It applies to money as well, and according to Ellen Rogin and Lisa Kueng, authors of "Picture Your Prosperity: Smart Money Moves to Turn Your Vision into Reality," the more you appreciate what you currently have, the more likely it is that you'll be better off - financially - in the future.
Here are a few ways gratitude can give your money a boost.
People who are grateful are less materialistic.
Rogin and Kueng point out that materialism has been found to reduce people's happiness no matter what they earn.
Materialism and low levels of happiness can lead to retail therapy, since many people often try to combat unhappiness by buying new things for themselves. The authors say being grateful can help avoid this behavior.
"By focusing on gratitude, not only will you help yourself be less materialistic, you'll probably naturally spend less money and be able to save more," Rogin and Kueng write.
People who are grateful advance in their careers.
Gratitude is an underrated element of success. According to Rogin and Kueng, because grateful people are more likeable, they make better managers, which often means they enjoy more success in their careers. Besides their likability, "Grateful people have also been found to be more focused and productive - traits that certainly help in career advancement," the authors explain.
People who are grateful may end up making more money.
Rogin and Kueng cite a study which showed that "students between the ages of 16 and 18 who described themselves as happier had greater life satisfaction at age 22 and earned more by age 29." The students who referred to themselves as "very happy teens" ended up with incomes 10% higher than the average of people in the study. And according to the authors, there's a link between gratitude and happiness. "Gratitude has also been shown to raise optimism levels as well as self-esteem," they write. "And people who are highly positive and have strong self-esteem have higher incomes."
Whether or not a higher income will make you happier, that's another story.