You can do these exercises anytime, and you don't have to stop at five things. In fact, it is a great idea to keep a running list in a gratitude journal or on note cards. This way you can return to your list anytime you wish, reinforcing your feelings of gratitude. At any moment you can make a list, bask in those thoughts and share that thankfulness with others. And you can say "thank you" to many people in any given day, not just that special someone. You've probably thought of being thankful as a good thing to do or the right thing to do. But now hopefully you see it can be even more powerful than "right." You can increase your sense of well-being and create positive social effects just from counting your blessings and passing along this feeling by saying "thanks."