By Alicia Canela Rueda, Colegio Nueva Granada reporter| Showing gratitude is one of the most essential ways to help us have a positive mindset, according to Sofia Mosquera, a teacher at CNG, an international school in Bogota, Colombia.

“Gratitude helps our mindset because it shows that you are important to people,” she said. Ms. Sofi would like to see gratitude practiced every day.

According to Mental Health Center Kids, you can show gratitude by saying thank you, giving a hug, a handshake, a high five, or something similar. You may also show gratitude by giving a gift or even by spending time with people, according to the organization, which produces materials to help professionals and parents support kids’ mental health.

Ms. Sofi said it’s heart-warming when people showed gratitude toward her, and added she feels “really nice when I show gratitude.” According to Children’s Hospital of Orange County, California, “the more you express gratitude to others, the more likely you are to experience other positive emotions.”

The teacher also said gratitude is a way to let people see what they’re doing right and that they’re helpful.

The research shows that “gratitude is more than just a feeling—it can be something you practice on a regular basis.”

Illustration by Alicia Canela Rueda.