THE POWER OF SHOWING GRATITUDE: FOSTERING APPRECIATION AND HAPPINESS IN DAILY LIFE

GRATITUDE IN MY OWN OPINION
Gratitude in this world is sometimes overlooked leading to a high degree of ungratefulness by humans, by all means for the little and the big that some one may do for us, each an every individual should have the heart of being grateful.
In my own opinion, Gratitude is the act of showing appreciation for an act of kindness ,gift given or help rendered to someone ,whether the person deserves it or not.

WHY DOES GRATITUDE MATTER
Gratitude matters because living in a world of no appreciation is overlooking the main essence of man, even the Bible says that God in His Glory still made man to give him praise, asides from the Angels worshipping, the creatures he created are for the pleasures of His Glory (Thanksgiving).
Gratitude is necessary because it gives room for more,as a certain poet said and I quote “When your thankful, your tank will be full”. This places emphasis on the point that the more you give gratitude to the source, it propels that same source to do more. Imagining your 3year old son, whom you give #20 everyday and he doesn't appreciate and feels its too small for his status, the desire for you to keep giving him the money will depreciate because his ungrateful.
Moreover gratitude is necessary because kindness is not common, to help is not common to all humans, as some humans has a strong degree of evil in them and so to see a handful that actually has your interest at hand to show you kindness should not be looked upon with contempt.

HOW OFTEN DO I SHOW GRATITUDE
As mentioned earlier, gratitude should move from the point of being just an expression to becoming a lifestyle. One of the major problems of this world is lack of appreciation by humans, between couples, partners and even mates. Each and everyone is entitled to an expression of gratitude after a help rendered.
I show gratitude daily even for the least thing that doesn't seem significant, like anytime my sister's get to prepare a nice meal and I sit down watching and I'm being served, by all means I must say thank you, whether it be that the money came from me or not, because she painstakingly prepared the meal by putting in her time, energy and culinary skills and to overlook that act is to overlook my very own self because she has satisfied my desires at the moment and I must be grateful.

HOW TO MAKE GRATITUDE A HABIT AND INCULCATE IT IN YOUNG ONES
Habit is easy to form but extremely difficult to break, so to form an habit of gratitude is necessary and good for life.
Here are some keynotes to making gratitude an habit, “see yourself as if you don't deserve that act of kindness and then position your heart to say thank you”. Many individuals has this sense of entitlements and so it makes it difficult to be grateful because they feel they deserve everything and so why should they be thankful, gradually they become ingrates. And one way of inculcating this attitude in our young ones is to make them understand that whatsoever you give them is not easy to get anywhere and they should always be saying thank you when given anything. Constantly buttressing on this point will build up their minds to the reality of being grateful.
Secondly do not categorize any act of kindness, as small or big because it's all from the heart, when you learn to appreciate the little offers then certainly when the big offers come you will still show appreciation as it's being established in your subconscious mind already. And one way to inculcate this habits in our young ones is to make them understand that no gift is small or big and it shouldn't be underated and when thier philosophy is built in this foundation it will be easy for them to show appreciation for anything.

CONCLUSION
The story of the ten lepers in the Bible should be a practical case study for us, that out of ten lepers healed, only one came back to give thanks and after showing that appreciation he was granted the gift of wholeness which others couldn't get because of ungratefulness.(Luke 17 vs 11-19).
In all we do let's always show appreciation for it's the little that we are thankful for that will bring the great that we beseech.