10 Years of Gratitude – One Powerful Truth

“Gratitude heals.” One powerful truth – from a decade of studying gratitude, and 30 years of practicing gratitude.

I’m celebrating 10 years speaking about gratitude this October!! I’m comforted by this simple, yet powerful truth – Gratitude heals.

​10 years ago, in October, 2015, I had a realization in my private practice. I won’t call it a crisis. It was an awakening!​

I had been a forensic psychologist for 15 years, dedicating my professional life to the protection of children and stabilizing families.​

While this work was purposeful, meaningful, my heart wasn’t in it anymore. Not only was my heart not in it, it was sucking the life out of me.

I dreaded going to my office.

I dreaded reading about, interviewing, writing, and testifying about child abuse and neglect.

It took me 5 more years, a global pandemic, and being stuck in a locked room in a jail for an hour after an evaluation because there wasn’t enough staff to let me out – to leave the field completely in 2020 – after 4,000 evaluations.​

When I knew I needed to pivot, I thought to myself…

“What in the world am I going to do now?”​

This was 100% of my income. This was all I was professionally known for. I had a mortgage to pay and 3 children to support.​

Thankfully, in my quest for “What’s next?” – I came across a wonderful book, The Success Principles by Jack Canfield. In the book, he suggests a simple exercise. Write down three things that bring you joy. That’s the easy part.

Then, figure out a way to make money doing it. That’s the hard part!​

At the top of my list was…

Speaking, teaching, and writing about gratitude.

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But then those limiting beliefs creep in, and so often squash our dreams… if we let them.​

“No one even wants to hear about gratitude.”

“And if they do, they won’t pay for it.”

“Who are you to enjoy your work? Work needs to be hard!”

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Thankfully, the message my parents instilled in my far outweighed those limiting beliefs:

I could do anything I set my mind to – with time, dedication, and hard work. (Thanks, Mom and Dad)!

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Turns out, a lot of people want to hear about gratitude, and many organizations gladly pay me to speak about it to improve the mental health and wellbeing of their people!​

So I plugged along, following Jack Canfield’s ideas in The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be to turn my dreams into reality, and reading one of his other books, Chicken Soup for the Soul at Work: 101 Stories of Courage, Compassion & Creativity in the Workplace, for inspiration and ideas. I highly recommend both, if you, too are wondering, “What’s Next?”​

Then 4 years later in 2019, I received an email inviting me to participate in World Gratitude Summit, with…. Jack Canfield! I couldn’t believe it! Following the principles in his book, and following my heart, led me to being invited to do an event with him!

At first I thought it was a scam. Then I realized, I earned this! By diving deep into the research, providing hundreds of presentations, receiving glowing testimonials, and sharing my origin story – I earned this spot to share the international stage with Jack Canfield.

I’m grateful for every invitation to speak about gratitude.

I’m grateful for the opportunity to have a positive impact on so many lives.

I’m grateful for presentation participants who reach out to me to let me know that my words and suggestions in my signature framework, The Grateful Day, continue to have a positive impact on their lives and those around them, long after my presentation.​

Through the concept of gratitude, I incorporate easy to implement activities that are essential for wellbeing. Through my personal story of profound loss, participants have hope and inspiration that they too, can survive through difficult times. I love hearing that attendees were so affected, that they shared with those they love – like Beth Salomon, Director of Communications and Public Information, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, – Dr. Peggy was warm, connected and wise. Many great suggestions for small moments of appreciation throughout the day. She has transformed loss into a beautiful pathway to meaning. I have already shared her tips with two people in five minutes. Extremely relatable and useful.

I’m grateful for all of the organizations and individuals who have invited me to be their speaker! I’m grateful for the events from 2025, and thrilled about what’s in store for 2026, including my largest in-person audience!

Contact me if you’re interested in a transformational presentation for your organization using my proprietary framework The Grateful Day – with a lasting impact – because that’s exactly what gratitude does.

In Gratitude,

Dr. Peggy DeLong, The Gratitude Psychologist

“Gratitude has a lasting impact on the brain. Even weeks after a gratitude practice, people show more neural sensitivity to gratitude, and greater happiness.”​

— Dr. Glenn Fox, neuroscientist, University of Southern California

“Regularly expressing gratitude changes the molecular structure of the brain, keeps gray matter functioning, and makes us healthier and happier.”​

— Dr. Caroline Leaf, cognitive neuroscientist

“People who keep gratitude journals have a sustained increase in wellbeing—by more than 10%—and the benefits can last for months.”​

— Dr. Robert Emmons, gratitude researcher, University of California, Davis

“Gratitude is a powerful antidepressant. The effects of a single act of thoughtful gratitude can last for days and even weeks.”​

— Dr. Alex Korb, neuroscientist, UCLA, author of The Upward Spiral

“Practicing gratitude helps people reframe negative experiences, reinforcing positive thinking patterns that endure over time.”​

— Greater Good Science Center, UC Berkeley

“Gratitude is accessible to all, accessible at all times, is free, feels good in the moment, and has long-term mental health benefits.”​

— Dr. Peggy DeLong, The Gratitude Psychologist