The biggest trend in the mental health world is being grateful, and practicing gratitude regularly. Learning how to be grateful helps us see what we do have and that it is enough, and we just aren’t paying attention to what we don’t have.
Learning how to be grateful is an excellent way to raise your positivity and bring in positive people, situations, and events into your life. Often the act of being grateful seems more challenging to so than it really is, but the powerful consequences of practicing gratitude have a huge impact on mental, emotional and physical health.
One study from 2011, by Joshua A. Rash, M. Kyle Matsuba and Kenneth M. Prkachin, concluded that;
Grateful contemplation can be used to enhance long‐term well‐being.
A book called, “Designing Positive Psychology: Taking Stock and Moving Forward,” mentions how “gratitude is a mindful awareness of the benefits in one’s life.” Learning how to be grateful is a process of being grateful, practicing gratitude through expression, and appreciating what is, rather than what might be.
The Plan: Being Grateful
The first step in learning how to be grateful is taking stock on what your life has that makes you feel blessed, than taking the time to speak, write, or complete an action that leads to practicing gratitude.
Take out your journal or open a blank text file on your computer.
- Write the date at the top
- Write the quote I am sharing below
- Write down 5 things (or more) that you are grateful for and why
- Write a list of 3 people you love (or more) that you are grateful for and why
- Write 3 people who you don’t care for (or more) that you are grateful for and why
- Write down 3 things about yourself that you are grateful for
Quote of the Day
Today’s quote comes from the influential author of, “The Secret This is an affiliate link,” Rhonda Byrne This is an affiliate link.
After writing the quote and all the pieces of the journal entry for today, write how you can use this quote in your quest being grateful and learning to be grateful regularly.
An Extra Resource for Practicing Gratitude
Practicing gratitude is so powerful, and these Ted Talks will help you to understand and learn how to be grateful and how being grateful will make you happy.
My Story of Learning How to be Grateful
I used to think that I had very little to be grateful for in my life. The fact was, I was too busy surviving to pay tribute to all the people who stood by me, all the situations that worked out for me, all the therapists who tolerated and enjoyed me, all the new and old connections I made, and my beautiful boys.
Being grateful and practicing gratitude was not as easy as I thought it would be. Many times I wanted to say thank you but I felt like I couldn’t because it would mean that if the person didn’t think I meant it, they would think less of me. I cared entirely too much about what others would think if I didn’t say thank you the right way or properly acknowledge the gestures in a formidable way.
I learned how to be grateful through practice. I made it a ritual to be involved in practicing gratitude when I wake up and when I go to bed. It has helped me to stay focused on what I do have to be thankful for in my life, so I don’t keep seeking what isn’t meant for me.
A Quick Exercise for Being Grateful
The best quick exercise for learning how to be grateful is to perform a mindful meditation before bed, then write in a journal all the things you were grateful for during the day that just passed. Here is an awesome meditation video for gratitude.
Here are some awesome Gratitude Journals from Amazon that I thought you might love.
Read More
- Gratitude Journal: A Collection of 66 Templates, Ideas, and Apps for Your Diary – Positive Psychology
- How Gratitude Changes You and Your Brain – Greater Good Magazine
- Six Habits of Highly Grateful People – Greater Good Magazine
- Giving thanks can make you happier – Harvard Health Publishing
- The Science Behind Gratitude (and How It Can Change Your Life) – Happify Daily
- 14 Health Benefits of Practicing Gratitude According to Science – Positive Psychology
- 7 Scientifically Proven Benefits Of Gratitude That Will Motivate You To Give Thanks Year-Round – Forbes
- Day 12: How to End the Victim Mentality – Niki Maria
- Day 13: Powerful Inner Child Healing – Niki Maria
