It is important to learn how to practice gratitude in our daily lives as it’s importance cannot be overemphasized. This article covers gratitude in various relationships and how to incorporate it into your lifestyle for a more content life.
Before we delve into the details of how to practice gratitude, let us cover a few preliminary steps.
What Is Gratitude?
Gratitude comes in different forms. It can be saying a simple thank you to a colleague at work, hugging a loved one, or having an emotional conversation with a friend.
Gratitude is a means of acknowledging that you appreciate someone or something in your life. However, you can also be grateful to yourself. Knowing how to practice gratitude is one of the most important things in life.
When you feel great about the love and support people have shown you over time, you can be grateful that you are surrounded by those who care about you.
While some people learn how to practice gratitude, others naturally tend to showcase appreciation. You can show gratitude in a lot of ways. Sometimes, you don’t even need words to express gratitude; your body language can do the job.
For some individuals, gratitude is expressed by praying to the God they worship. They believe He is responsible for all the good people and things in their lives and must thank him through prayer.
While there’s no one way to express gratitude, the most important thing is to show that you appreciate the things going on in your life. When you are grateful for many things, you will most likely live a better and happier life.
In this article, I will highlight why being grateful is essential and the simple steps you can adopt to effectively practice gratitude.
15 Ways To Practice Gratitude
Showing gratitude is one of the best ways to live a happier and healthier lifestyle. When you are grateful for the things you have, you will appreciate the beauty of your existence.
You can be thankful for anything; friends, family, health, food, kids, weather, emotional well-being, psychological well-being, etc.
While some people have mastered the art of gratitude, others don’t know how to practice gratitude. That said, below are 15 ways on how to practice gratitude:
1. Have A Daily Gratitude Journal
It is important to show gratitude every single day of your life. The best way to achieve this is to have a gratitude journal to write down what you are thankful for.
You can also write down the things you want to be grateful for, regardless of whether they are yet to happen.
In your journal, you can highlight the most important things in your life and be grateful for experiencing every one of them.
It could be having the most loving family members, having enough food, good health, or living in a pleasant environment. Every day — preferably when you wake up — you can write down the things you were grateful for the previous day or the ones you hope to be thankful for the day ahead.
2. Be Thankful To The People Who Make Your Life Better
Nothing is more fulfilling than realizing that the best people surround you. Having those who make you feel good about yourself and the world around you can never be overemphasized.
With the assurance that great people support you daily, you can achieve beautiful things and be motivated to love and care for others. Therefore, it is only a thoughtful thing to be grateful for having wonderful people in your life.
You can show them you appreciate their love and support by calling, texting, sending letters, or having heartfelt conversations with them.
Send them messages that depict gratitude and show how important they are to you. For inspiration on messages of gratitude to send, you can find them in the link here.
When you show gratitude to your loved ones, they become much more inspired to spread love to other people in their lives.
3. Minimize Or Completely Diminish Complaining And Criticizing
In learning how to practice gratitude, you must understand the power of words and use them effectively. For example, a grateful person does not use words that hurt others or make others feel displeased.
Hence, it would be best to minimize the criticisms and complaints about people. Also, it would help if you learned how to use the appropriate words for appropriate situations.
For instance, when you are late to a meeting or engagement, rather than saying, “It isn’t my fault that I came late, there was crazy traffic on the way.”, you can say, “I apologize for being late, thank you for waiting.”
It is vital to use every opportunity you have to show gratitude. Thank people for being patient with you, appreciate them for informing you about a particular situation. Don’t hesitate to tell them you are grateful that they find you worthy and responsible.
4.  Say Thank You Often Even For The Little Things
First, people around us have life issues and are emotionally affected. Therefore, it is important to find such people and have a heartfelt conversation. Encourage them, motivate them, send good wishes to them.
You can also help them become the best version of themselves and show them the reasons why they must not give up. Tell them you are grateful that they still dare to keep forging ahead despite their struggles.
Thank them for being brave enough and making them feel you appreciate the little efforts they make to live a happier life.
5. Write Thank You Notes Whenever Possible
This is a little bit different from writing a daily journal of gratitude. Here, you can pen down a lengthy, heartwarming piece highlighting how grateful you are to the people and things in your life.
You can send this note to your loved ones or pin it on your bedroom door or your social media profile. A note of gratitude can contain all the things you are grateful for.
It may be a lengthy write-up because you might want to mention names, talk about your experiences or highlight some of the things that make you happy.
Nevertheless, this is one way of practicing gratitude that people often overlook.
6. Adopt Mindfulness, Not Worrying About The Past
Practicing gratitude encompasses a lot of factors, including worrying less about the past. Also, it requires you to be mindful of your actions and every decision you make.
You won’t be grateful for the beautiful things that will come your way when you always think about how unpleasant your past was.
For anything, always be optimistic about the future and be grateful for where you are at the moment.
7. Take Pictures Of Things You’re Grateful For And Reflect On Them
When you step out every day, make sure you capture lovely memories with your camera devices that you will reflect on at the end of the day.
You can be grateful for living in a world where nature is beautiful and, as a result, capture beautiful landscapes and habitats.
You can also take pictures with random people with who you had decent conversations while engaging in your daily routines.
Seeing those pictures and reflecting on them will give you many reasons to smile and be grateful for being alive. You can also take photos of your pets, neighborhood, kids, loved ones, and beautiful locations.
8. Reward Other People’s Efforts
One of the most effective ways to practice gratitude is to reward the efforts of people — no matter how little. You don’t necessarily need to offer cash rewards to show that you are grateful for what someone has done for you.
Instead, you can reward them by saying kind words to them, recommending their services to other people, or spreading positive news about them wherever you go.
In today’s fast-paced world, where people are more focused on making money and not offering kindness, it is only logical to reward the efforts of those who still show kindness as a way of encouraging them.
9. Compliment Others More Often
Saying kind, complimentary words to people is another fantastic way to show gratitude. It means you acknowledge their awesomeness and won’t forget to remind them that they are wonderfully created.
This will motivate them to improve their habits and lifestyle. While working at a firm after I’d left college, I used to have this colleague who never missed a chance to compliment my outfits each day.
He was in his late forties and full of life. Before our first meeting, I always felt inferior about my outfits. I thought I wasn’t one of the most dapper individuals around.
However, I felt more confident about myself and what I wore when he complimented me.
One day, I asked him why he always had something nice to say about my outfits, and he replied, “I see everyone as a champion, and I want everyone to see themselves like that too.” Then, he smiled and walked away.
I was taken aback by his words. I felt great about myself after he said that. There and then, I decided to always say complimentary words to people to make them feel great too.
10. Meditate On The Things You Are Grateful For
Meditation has a powerful way of creating an emotional and spiritual balance for individuals who meditate.
When you deeply think of the things you are grateful for, you will realize how much you love appreciating life.
Also, memorizing quotes on gratitude can help you always be thankful for what you have experienced.
11. Always Look At The Good Side In Other People
Of course, there is not one person alive who doesn’t have a negative trait. No matter how meek and humble you are, you are most likely to offend people at a point in your life.
However, we must not focus on people’s negative traits. We will never see how hard they try to work on their flaws if we do.
Therefore, in learning how to practice gratitude, we must always look at the good side of people.
That way, we can show them how much we care about them.
12. Keep A Gratitude Jar
Always ensure that you are filled with gratitude and happiness. This can help you appreciate your existence and the lives of those around you.
Never choose a life where you no longer feel the need to show gratitude. Always keep a gratitude jar to constantly replenish when the feeling is low.
13. Be Grateful For Having Unpleasant Experiences
Most times, people make the mistake of assuming that unpleasant experiences occur to ruin their lives.
This is because they fail to realize that they can harness sad events and use them as a stepping stone to achieving more incredible things.
So, when you experience failure or a setback, be grateful for having such an experience and learn from your mistakes. This is one of the ways of understanding how to practice gratitude.
Setbacks do not translate to complete downfall but should be seen as an opportunity to correct certain things in our lives.
Once you are grateful for experiencing unpleasant events, it will be easier for you to overturn the situation and win in the long run.
14. Practice Random Acts Of Kindness And Be Kind Always
In learning how to practice gratitude, you must understand the importance of being kind to other people. When you show kindness to others, you are passing an indirect message that you care and appreciate them.
Therefore, kindness should not be shown only to those you are familiar with but also to random individuals who deserve it.
15. Attempt To Answer More Gratitude Prompts
During the course of learning how to practice gratitude, you must try to answer more gratitude prompts.
That way, you will better understand how to practice gratitude and be mindful of your actions — especially towards others.
How To Be Grateful In Hard Times
When we experience hard times, we may find it challenging to keep positive energy. Our mental and emotional well-being could be affected. As a result, we may not be motivated to keep doing the things that make us happy.
Showing gratitude during hard times can be challenging. However, understanding how to practice gratitude can be hugely uplifting in the most difficult situations. Below are some tips on how to be grateful during hard times.
1. Write Down The Things You Are Grateful For
In difficult situations, to encourage yourself, it’s vital to remember the happier moments you have had and be grateful for experiencing them.
Therefore, writing down the things you are thankful for can make you feel better about yourself and your situation.
As earlier stated, you can be grateful for a lot of things.
For ideas on things to be grateful for no matter the situation, you can access them here.
For example, you could be thankful for being alive, for having a wonderful family, for having great friends. Living in a community where everyone supports one another or having the privilege to participate in specific activities.
Writing down the things you are grateful for could make you realize that things may not be as bad as you have assumed.
2. Have A Conversation With Loved Ones On Gratitude
The best people to share your interests with are those who genuinely love and care about you. Look around you; friends and family members are genuinely interested in your well-being.
They can go to extra lengths to make sure you are happy. Therefore, when you are passing through a difficult phase, you should consider having a heartfelt conversation with a loved one.
Talking to someone you know cares about you can help you feel good about yourself and offer you the right motivation to confront your challenges.
3. Show Others You Are Grateful To Have Them In Your Life
One of the best times to express gratitude is often during difficult times. But, first, you must be ready to show appreciation to the people helping you pass through a phase in your life.
When such people realize how much gratitude you are offering, they may be motivated to help you overcome whichever difficulty you face.
4. Be Thankful For Being Alive
Some people believe that a creator owns their lives, while some think they exist. Regardless of your beliefs, showing gratitude for being alive can be highly effective, especially during a challenging period.
Daily, death occurs. Some people who have died were big dreamers who could become one of the best in their respective disciplines. But because they are not alive, they cannot achieve their goals.
Therefore, no matter your current situation — whether you are sad or happy — be grateful for being alive. You can also read gratitude quotes that inspire thankfulness and reflect on them.
5. Be Patient With Yourself
Patience is key. In learning how to practice gratitude, you have to master the ability to be patient. You have to accept that you are bound to experience hard times in your life.
However, you should know that sad days do not last forever. All you need is to be patient enough to get over challenging situations finally. Don’t get overwhelmed by the current happenings.
Instead, start preparing yourself for the better days ahead. Be patient with yourself and be grateful for having come this far.
A classic example of someone who was patient with himself was the famous anti-apartheid revolutionary and former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela.
His fight against apartheid and racial discrimination led to him serving twenty-seven years in prison.
While in prison, the course he had fought for gained so much momentum, leading to his release and subsequent appointment as President of South Africa.
If he wasn’t patient enough to go through challenging and traumatic experiences in prison, perhaps, he wouldn’t have led his countrymen to freedom. His patient and resilient nature made him one of the most celebrated figures in history.
6. Be Optimistic About The Future
The exciting thing about the future is that although we do not know what exactly will happen, we are aware of the numerous opportunities it could offer.
Therefore, when we are experiencing difficulties in our lives, we should have a positive mindset about our future. Things can change within a twinkle of an eye.
It’s up to you to keep believing in yourself and having a positive attitude towards the next thing that will happen to you.
How To Be Grateful To Friends
Perhaps more than anyone else, our friends deserve our love and gratitude. For all the efforts they put in to show us love and support, in return, we must show them how grateful we are.
Below are five ways you can be thankful to your friends:
1. Show Them Through Physical Affection
Sharing a hug is one of the most affectionate ways of showing gratitude and love.
By simply hugging your friends, you tell them how much you love them and how grateful you are to have them in your life without even saying a word.
If they are vibrant enough, they can get the message and be glad that you have appreciated them. Therefore, learning how to practice gratitude should include sending affectionate messages to friends with just a simple, emotional hug.
2. Always Be Happy When You Are Around Them
When you are around your friends, they must know that you are genuinely happy to be with them. You must show them that you appreciate their company and are grateful to have them around.
You must keep positive energy and be lively whenever you are with them. Do everything positive to ensure that they acknowledge your show of gratitude.
3. Treat Them With Love And Respect
It is said that everyone deserves love and respect. Of course, they do, but your friends deserve more! Hence you must treat them with love and care.
Make them understand that you see them as loved ones and as humans who are equal to you in every regard. Never treat a good friend with contempt or disdain.
This might push them away. Showcasing a healthy dose of love and respect to your friends is a means of expressing gratitude.
4. Be Kind And Compassionate To All Your Friends
Kindness and compassion are two essential factors you must possess as an individual.
To show that you are grateful to your friends for having them in your life, you must be kind and compassionate.
You must be willing to share their burdens and be ready to assist them to greater heights. Understanding how to practice gratitude requires knowing that kindness and compassion matter.
5. Help Them Achieve Specific Goals And Objectives
By extension, when your friends are doing well, you are also doing well. So, it is essential to help them grow and support their dreams.
You can be a massive support to your friends financially, emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and socially.
In all you do, know that one of the ways to show you are grateful to your friends is by helping them achieve their goals and objectives.
What Are Gratitude Exercises?
We can do little but practical things to enhance our knowledge of practicing gratitude. Let’s call these gratitude exercises. So, how do you practice them? These are three ways to do so:
1. Wake Up With Gratitude
When you wake up each morning, you can start your day with positive energy by highlighting what you are grateful for. Try to remember at least ten things you are thankful for and reflect on them.
You can do this while still lying on the bed or in the shower — anytime! It is more important to list the things you are grateful for and develop a positive mindset.
2. Avoid Complaining Too Much
When you complain too much about the things going on in your life, you may find yourself being unhappy most times. Learning how to practice gratitude involves avoiding complaints.
Although this is not easy to achieve, it is hugely rewarding. You can challenge yourself to go at least two days a week without complaining about anything and instead try to solve problems.
3. Take A Gratitude Walk
According to experts, taking regular walks can improve your health. Doctors advise that people take walks more often to boost their mental, physical, and emotional well-being.
When taking a walk, you can reflect on what you are grateful for and be thankful for experiencing them. You can also observe and appreciate nature’s wonderful gifts as you walk.
This includes taking deep breathes to perceive beautiful flowery scents, smiling at random people walking past you, and also enjoying little children having fun in the neighborhood, and many more.
For You
I have written this article to expose you to tips on how to practice gratitude. I’m sure you must have learned a lot after reading this. However, learning is a process that never stops.
Therefore, learning how to practice gratitude for you shouldn’t stop here. Infuse the culture of gratitude into your life in 2022.
We have a Facebook community that serves as a platform for inspirational and motivational conversations — Little Step, Big Miles. You will find some of the most amazing people willing to help you grow and become more of a grateful individual on the platform.
So why don’t you join us right away? You can either join the community on Facebook here or follow the Instagram platform for daily doses of inspiration here.
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