Most days are filled with lots of noise, challenges and stress.

But it's reassuring to know that we can feel better anytime we want to.

Even on the most chaotic days, there is always an opportunity to pause and feel good.

Today I want you take a few minutes to make space for yourself and catch your breath.

Go ahead and turn off your phone and shut your computer for 5 minutes.

Put on some holiday music if you'd like or just sit in silence.

Focus on your breath - 3 counts in through your nose, and 3 counts out through your mouth.

Be in the moment and start thinking about the things that you're grateful for in your life.

Or just keep focusing on your breath and the count.

This little indulgence is not selfish. It's self-care, and it's important.

A lot of people think self-care is selfish. But you wont be able to be your best, if you don't feel your best. You need to put your oxygen mask on first, before helping others.

When expressing gratitude to someone, replace high tech with high touch.

A great activity you can do if you facilitate virtual or in person meetings that will help you get to know someone else quickly.

Have you ever written a love letter to your significant other or spouse? If not, it's a great thing to do to deepen that connection between the two of you, and I share some tips of what to say in the letter.

In today's episode, I talk about what it means for a company to lead with gratitude, which means everything should be relational, and not just about the transaction. I share a story about how my favorite coffee shop in Denver, Fluid, used gratitude when my cat Nomar was having a couple of teeth pulled.

Today is a tip from my book, The Grateful Entrepreneur: Get together with your clients and customers while you're on the road traveling. It's a great way to build that relationship and get to know them on a personal level.

In this episode of the Daily Gratitude Minute, I share 2 tips on writing appreciation cards to make them more impactful.

Say Happy Birthday! Send out birthday cards to every team member and customer on their birthday! If you’re connected to your customers on Facebook, the platform lets you know when it’s their birthday. It’s a cinch to post “Happy Birthday” on their timeline. But hundreds of other people are doing the same thing. Too bad your message won’t stand out.

Recently, I read about a CEO named Sheldon Yellen who handwrites 8,000 birthday cards a year for all his employees—with personalized comments relevant to each person! In addition, when he hears about random acts of kindness in the workplace, he sends a thank you note to the individual letting them know their efforts didn’t go unnoticed.

I’m Scott Colby with Say It With Gratitude and this has been your Daily Gratitude Minute. Cheers.

I did a virtual gratitude presentation yesterday for a start up software company of 9 people. At the beginning of the workshop, I had them pick up their smartphones and put them underneath their chair.

The goal was to have more quality conversations and deeper connections without being distracted by their phones. I did this in my in person breakout session last week in Wisconsin.

At the end of my workshop yesterday, I was talking to the owner of the company and he mentioned an article he read with the latest research that states having a mobile device within easy reach divides your attention, even if you're not actively looking at it.

When you're having a conversation with someone, put your phones completely away, even not bringing it with you, and see if that makes a difference for you and the person you're with in your conversations (especially the listening part).