Simplest Things To Do To Start Practicing Gratitude!
Being thankful can make a big difference to our life
What if, we paused to reflect on the countless blessings that enrich our existence?
There is nothing permanent in life.
Most of us take the things in our lives for granted – the roof over our heads, and the food on our table. We go about our days without giving much thought to the many blessings we enjoy.
But what if we stopped to think about all the good things in our lives?
What if we took a moment each day to be grateful for what we have?
Gratitude has been shown to have powerful effects on our well-being.
Gratitude can also help us to cope with difficult times. When we are facing challenges, it can be easy to focus on what’s going wrong. But if we take a step back and look at the situation from a different perspective, we may be able to find reasons to be grateful.
Years back
Being thankful can make a big difference, but it took me a while to realize it for myself.
When my mentor, twenty years back, introduced me to the practice, I thought it was childish … and yet as I practiced it, my mood started to shift, and my mindset started to change.
I began noticing more things to be grateful for, even during tough times.
Ever since, whenever I’m feeling down or focusing on the negative, I turn to gratitude.
This is one of my allies.
Starting from the simplest sentence like “I’m grateful for my morning fragrant coffee” which I always laugh at when I write; I recall the times when I didn’t have this morning coffee and how I spent the rest of the day. I can feel grateful every morning when I smell and taste it.
Tough times
When a dear one passed away and while I was watching him departing, feelings of sadness, anger, and frustration were all over my emotional state.
I needed, somehow, to maintain his presence in my life.
Thus, I began writing him letters of thanks every day. For a long time, my daily gratitude was dedicated only to him.
The lapse of time and the letters made me accept his absence and feel grateful for having him in my life for seven years, teaching and guiding me.
Being thankful doesn’t have to be hard. As soon as you find the little things (or big) to be thankful for every day.
The most essential part to consider in your practice is doing it with emotion and consistency. That’s all it takes.
It's not just about listing things; it’s about truly feeling the gratitude. When you deeply feel grateful for something—whether small, like a cup of coffee, or big, like someone's impact on your life—it rewires your thinking and helps shift your mood. This emotional engagement strengthens the practice, making it more transformative.
Start by slowing down and really experiencing what you are grateful for. Connect with the feeling. For example, if you're thankful for a conversation, recall the emotions you felt during that moment—how it made you feel understood or supported. Feeling the gratitude will amplify its effects.
Simple Ways to Practice Gratitude
Here are some suggestions on how to start if you have never practiced before, or if you want to change things up.
Write down three things that you are grateful for each day and why they are meaningful to you in a gratitude journal.
Read some prompts or quotes to increase your willingness to start.
Read or say affirmations that match your feelings and thoughts.
Send a message to a friend saying something nice about him/her.
There are many ways to show gratitude in our life. The key is to find something that makes you happy.
Being grateful can be small, random, a distant memory, or anything that makes us feel good about ourselves. We need only to allow ourselves to feel that sense for which we are sincerely thankful.
Gratitude can help us live a better life and make our world a better place.
Reflecting in a gratitude journal is a great start, but what if you want to go deeper? Journaling can be a transformative tool not only for expressing thanks but also for processing your thoughts and setting new intentions.
Head over to the “Journal your way within” for more tips, prompts, and insights to deepen your practice! Plus, I've created a free one-page Daily Gratitude guide to help you get started on your journey.
Two childhood friends and I have a group text where we share a gratitude list every day. I look forward to those!