Have you ever thought about the word "thanksgiving"? It is literally the act of giving thanks.

While many of us will spend the day eating stuffing until we're stuffed and planning for Black Friday shopping, it's good to take a minute to be thankful for all that you already have. In fact, doing so is actually good for you!

Here are four reasons why spending a few minutes making a mental list of what you're truly grateful for can be good for you and good for the people you love.

Gratitude can be healthy for your relationships. Spending time thinking about the reasons you love someone and are glad they're in your life can make your relationships happier. Even better than just thinking about it is telling them! Expressing your true thanks to a person will bring you closer to them and strengthen your bond.

Gratitude can boost your career and earnings. Some career coaches have said gratitude is good for your professional development. Why? You may not be grateful that you have to work late or arrive early, but appreciating what you have will help you like your job more. When you like what you do and find fulfillment in it, your job performance will improve — and that can put you on track for a raise, promotion or new opportunities.

Gratitude can help you sleep. If you're stressed and worried — and it's keeping you up at night — start making that mental list of things you're grateful for. Doing so will lower your heart rate, decrease your anxiety and help you relax. All those things will help you sleep better and wake up refreshed.

Gratitude is good for your heart. Studies have shown that people who spend a few minutes every day thinking about what they're grateful for have lower blood pressure and less inflammation in their body. Being grateful for the little things — even hitting that green light on your commute across town — can help.

Gratitude is good for your wallet. Yes, being thankful is good for your bottom line. When you focus on what you have and how much you appreciate that, you'll spend less on new things and unnecessary purchases.

Of course, we here at CommonWealth One are grateful for your membership. We're glad we can serve you, happy to be your financial partner for life, and we love the communities we serve. We are grateful for the opportunity to partner with you to give back to the community through events like the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Run, Back-To-School Supplies Drives, Coat Drives, Sentara RMH Medical Center's Race to Beat Breast Cancer Walk/Run and our Big Giver Contest happening now through December 15. Thank you for being a part of CommonWealth One.

We hope you have a wonderful holiday season!