5 Ways to Practice Gratitude

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Is it time to practice gratitude?

Today’s journal entry is going to be exploring the topic of gratitude, including –

• What is Gratitude?
• What are the Benefits of Practicing Gratitude?
• What is the Power of Gratitude?
• Who are YOU Grateful for?
• 5 Ways to practice Gratitude.

Let’s get started..

What is Gratitude?

Grat•i•tude (noun):
The state of being grateful; a feeling of thankfulness or appreciation.

Some of the definitions of gratitude include –

• “a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation” ~ Vocabulary.com
• “Br. David Steindl-Rast,suggests that two qualities belong in our basic definition of gratitude. The first is appreciation: You recognize that something is valuable to you, which has nothing to do with its monetary worth. The second quality Br. David mentions is that gratitude is gratis: freely given to you.” ~ Gratefulness.org
• “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness” ~ Google
• “has been conceptualized as an emotion, a virtue, a moral sentiment, a motive, a coping response, a skill, and an attitude. It is all of these and more. Minimally, gratitude is an emotional response to a gift. It is the appreciation felt after one has been the beneficiary of an altruistic act” ~ Emmons and Crumpler, 2000.

What are the Benefits of Practicing Gratitude?

There are many benefits to practicing gratitude and they include –

• Psychological – positive emotions, alert, energetic, enthused and attentiveness
• Physical – exercise more, have better sleep and have fewer symptoms of discomfort
• Social – more compassionate and altruistic.

You can watch and listen to Professor Robert Emmons as he speaks about the benefits of gratitude more in the following clip.

What is the Power of Gratitude?

Gratitude is powerful!

Gratitude has the power to hear, energise and change lives. In the following video 8.12min clip, Professor Emmons discusses the power of gratitude including-

• the complexities of gratitude from the short-term feeling of gratitude to person who is deeply grateful,
• what is a grateful person? and
• different traits of an individual who is grateful.

Who are YOU Grateful for?

Your family, friends, teacher, client, colleagues? Do they know how grateful you are?

Let’s celebrate people now and not wait until it’s too late! Let’s make gratitude a habit for wellbeing!

People need to hear these special comments when they are living. We celebrate birthdays and special occasions, so let’s celebrate people for all of the gifts we receive in our life. When you are prompted to reach out in kindness, do it. When you want to share gratitude and appreciation – do that as well! The world needs more people who are grateful!

5 Ways to Practice Gratitude

Gratitude is a habit and we need to continue to cultivate it. Some ways you can practice gratitude include –

1. When you get together with your friends and family share the things in your life you are grateful for (instead of the things that you are not happy about).
2. Start a gratitude journal – in this journal you can put pictures, write how you are feeling, basically anything you are grateful for! Maybe even before going to bed each night or when you wake up, write down 5 things that you are grateful for. For example – today I am grateful for …….
3. Create a gratitude jar and reflect each day on what you are grateful for in your life and then add it to your gratitude jar. Then on December 31 each year, you can open it and experience all of the blessings you received in that year.
4. Let someone know how they have helped you in your life – you could write a letter, send them a card or even call them on the phone.
5. Make something for another person – for example you could bake some cookies, a meal for someone or even make a thoughtful gift for a birthday coming up.