Ten Easy Gratitude Habits
Gratitude is scientifically proven to make us happier. I've put this Top Ten List together to help jumpstart your gratitude habit! This new thankful attitude will help your mind focus on the little joys available to all of us everyday. These suggestions are easy to do! Share your experiences in adapting some of these thankful habits.
- Wake up Thankful: When you open your eyes, Say thank you, thank you, thank you! You are alive, and the new day is filled with possibilities for you!
- Take time to stop and smell the coffee! Take the time to breathe in the sweet aroma of a cup of coffee, or home made blueberry muffins.
- Enjoy your morning shower. Is there anything better than clean hot water streaming down on you, especially on these cold winter days. Be thankful for the clean water we have.
- Take a gratitude break. Incorporate a 1 minute break by taking a deep cleansing breathe and think of something your thankful for in this small moment of peace.
- Give thanks for your food before you eat. As you sit down to enjoy a meal, say a quick thanks. Be thankful for the food your about to eat. Be thankful for the cook who prepared your meal. Savor the taste of what your eating. Enjoy the feeling of being satisfied.
- Give someone a geniune compliment! This is an easy way to thank someone for making your life a little easier or more joyful. Say thanks to the stranger who held the door for you, Say thanks to a family member who made you a cup of tea. Be grateful for the small gestures we are given daily by our friends, family and coworkers!
- Take a picture of something that made you smile today and tweet it to #100ThankfulDays. When I am coming out of the grocery store and look up and see a pink sky, even a parking lot can look beautiful. Taking a picture of moments of joy and wonder and saving them will give you a window of what you value in life. These pictures will make you smile again when you look at them.
- Send a thankyou note. Writing a thankyou note, or even a thank you email, tweet, instagram, facebook post will make that special someone feel appreciated. It is important to give personal geniune thanks to our families, friends, coworkers, companies. Everyone enjoys having their efforts recognized.
- Write a short gratitude list before you go to bed! Review the positive aspects of your day. This is a wonderful way to reflect on what was good today. It helps us focus on life's small joys and let's us cope with bumps in the road as well.
- Share your gratitude list with a friend. Sharing gratitude will double the joy. By sharing our blessings we learn whats important and joyful for our friends. We also learn from other people's gratitude experiences of new ways to be grateful!
I'm so grateful for my two grandsons, ages 3yo and 2 1/2 mths old. They are the joy of my life. When I look at them, I can't help but smile. I just watch them and think about how lucky my husband and I are to have them.
ReplyDeleteAs you've mentioned, showing gratitude does make us happier. It reminds us to look at the positive sides of things and to be thankful for what we have. I love that you and your friend share what you are thankful for.
I have a daily pocket calendar with about a paragraph worth of space for each day and I use it as a gratitude journal. It has just enough room for me to document what I'm thankful for each particular day.
Thank you for reminding me not to forget about my journal. Also, thank you for the ideas on how to show gratitude.
Love it.. The 100 days of being thankful!! Love hot showers, love coffee and thankful for thank you cards .
ReplyDeleteLoved this post! I'm a HUGE believer of building gratitude habits and think that it can (and does!) lead to a happier life. It's hard to be sad/mad when you realize how much there is to be thankful for. I'm thankful to have found something that I'm passionate about and being able to do it everyday. And also the coffee that fuels me to do it!
ReplyDeleteI know a blogger who does something similar, called Reasons To Be Cheerful. It's the same idea - list the things which make you happy and only see the positive in your day. It's a great idea.
ReplyDeleteLove this! I find my whole attitude shifts when I focus on what I have to be thankful for. Cooking isn't such a chore when I choose to be grateful for the food and a kitchen to cook it in! I love the #100ThankfulDays idea and will be participating!
ReplyDeleteI always send thank-you notes and I taught my kids to do it, too. I'm amazed at how unthankful people are today. This entire post made me smile. I'm taking time to smell the coffee as I write this. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for the great comments. I love hearing your gratitude stories. They make me smile and give me new ideas on how to live a grateful life!
ReplyDeleteI love your post about gratitude. It's so important! I feel like it sounds a little silly, but nearly every time I see my three sweet kiddos sitting down to a meal, I'm just so thankful for all that we have, that we have food to put on the table, that they are healthy. God is good!
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! #1 is the hardest for me . . . Once I'm out of bed I'm happy. But the getting out of bed part . . . These are very practical, yet powerful ideas! I am going to pin it to my thankfulness board! I did a family character study on thankfulness a few months ago and this fits in perfect! :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful suggestions! I especially like your suggestion of writing thank you notes. I think maybe sending someone a thank you makes me just as happy as the person receiving it, probably because it reminds me of their kindness.
ReplyDeleteYeah this is cool. I have a blog - 1KSmiles, which is a list of 1000 things that make me (and hopefully you) smile. So we are in the same boat here.
ReplyDeleteI always am thankful for my hot tea. Before I sip it I always thank it for being it.
I sometimes count my blessings at night if I can't fall asleep, instead of sheep. Works like a charm, I don't remember ever getting past 10.
ReplyDeleteI'm thankful for life, health & strength! I need to give thanks more often. Often times we get in a habit of complaining and not stopping to give thanks for what really matters.
ReplyDeleteI am greatful for my family and the many opportunities we have to spend time together.......Maureen from redcottagechronicles.com
ReplyDeleteLove your post. Gratitude is so important. I had to laugh about #3. My teenage daughter has a lot of gratitude for her morning shower. haha
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These days people are not as courteous as they used to be. We were taught to say please and thank you, "NO MATTER WHAT"!
ReplyDeleteEven in my home my husband and I say please and thank you all day long. Its the little things that count and Please and Thank you is one of them!!!
I am thankful for my family! My husband and I have a 5 year old who is full of life and loves Christmas all year round and twins who are 3. It is amazing to see them interact and bring smiles to our face! Shannon from www.moderndaysettlers.com
ReplyDeleteI have this friend that posts daily gratitude lists :) I was planning to do that for the longest time but haven't gotten the chance and time to start :) I think I should already!
ReplyDeleteGreat gratefulnesses tips. Every morning, before my feet hit the floor I come up with at least one thing I'm grateful for. I do it very intentionally, and it helps attack the day!
ReplyDeleteLovely ideas! I've recently started trying to do lots of things like this, and it is amazing the difference it makes!
ReplyDeleteI am thankful for my loving husband and 4 beautiful daughters. I am thankful for Jesus my Savior who has saved me and gives me eternal hope.
ReplyDeleteI started a gratitude journal this year to try and be more thankful. These are great tips!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great gratitude project. I have been reading The Gratitude Project AND for writing gratitudes in my journal. I am so happy that you are doing this. I am thankful that I am a strong person.
ReplyDeleteI took a graduate class in Positive Psychology and agree with all of this! We studied and discussed it at length on how beneficial it is to be thankful.
ReplyDeleteI do a few of these...but I am going to work on doing all of these, as well as teaching them to my children! Thank you so much for sharing them with us!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post. It is a great reminder to always find something to be grateful for. When going through tough times, I remind myself that I am blessed & have so much to be thankful for even through storms.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great reminder. I try to be thankful all day everyday, but I know that I miss out on moments that I really should be celebrating. Thank you for this reminder!
ReplyDeleteEven a simple smile and a thank you to the person serving you in a shop can brighten your day with gratitude. Dont be the grumpy person waiting impatiently to be served - smile, say thank you and walk away having given a small but heartfelt gift.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the reminder! Sometimes it is way too easy to get caught up in the day-to-day business and take things for granted when they should be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great list with simple reminders of how to be grateful daily. I loved all the tips your shared and plan to use some for myself.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great list! I love writing thank you notes. I think in the age of email and texting, we have lost the importance of writing letter and thank you notes to people. I think it is a great way to teach children gratitude too.
ReplyDeleteJust the other day we were talking about this at our Bible meeting. One person suggested thanking God for five things from your day in your bedtime prayer. Even something as little as a shade tree on a hot day :-)
ReplyDeleteI like especially your point #8: I think saying thank you to people for the efforts you see them making is important.
ReplyDeleteI think trying to be present in the moment is important in cultivating an attitude of gratitude.
that's a very nice reminder. I remember once my friend was in the middle of a divorce and she told me that she took time each day to practice "gratitude". I admired her for that--and will always remember her strength.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great reminder and awesome ways to give gratitude. I am thankful for my beautiful 4 yr old granddaughter.
ReplyDeleteI've gotten better about showing and enjoying gratitude. It's not that I never felt it, but I was bad about showing it. Now, I try to be more conscious of it. It makes me feel better mentally when I do.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! I am thankful for my husband, he works hard to provide for us during the day and then comes home and helps me around the house at night. Servant.
ReplyDeleteGreat ideas! I am thankful for my husband, he works hard to provide for us during the day and then comes home and helps me around the house at night. Servant.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, we are absolutely on the same wavelength! My #PinItForward post mimics so much of what you propose- an attitude of gratitude and appreciation can change the blogosphere that we live in. I am absolutely on board to show #100ThankfulDays!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the reminder and great post. Showing gratitude is important and I'm so thankful for my family.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. We always say grace and we eat together as a family. I do need to stop and count my blessings more often during my busy days.
ReplyDeleteGratitude is such an amazing thing. I am always trying to teach my boys to be grateful for the things that they have instead of focusing on what they don't. We are blessed in so many ways and THAT is what our focus should be on.
ReplyDeleteI really like this... I think I'm going to print it out so I have this as a reminder each morning. I think when you realize what you are grateful for, then little problems don't seem that big, because of the bigger picture your life is.
ReplyDeleteI love showing that I am thankful. Even if it is something small. I appreciate everything. My husband laughs at me sometimes for saying thank you so much and says I don't have to thank him. I just explain that when I say thank you, it is me showing my appreciation.
ReplyDeleteI especially like the first one. If you wake up thankful it will help you have a better day. Thanks for the reminder.
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