How to Practice Gratitude & become Happier

Have you ever just felt irritated, dull or unsatisfied when you wake up one morning for no particular reason?
Well I know a very easy and even pleasant solution to those cranky mornings: Practice gratitude.

Gratitude is like an antidote to negative emotions. That is why practicing gratitude really works and puts you in a better mood when you are feeling irritated or unsatisfied!

In this blog post, you can read about what gratitude is, why practicing gratitude is making you happier and how you can practice gratitude in your life.

Being grateful for the present moment and appreciate life as it is, increases your happiness in life!
Research shows that practicing gratitude is effective in increasing ones overall happiness. People who regularly practice gratitude are happier, more energetic, more helpful and experience positive emotions more often. Being grateful also decreases the chance of feeling depressed, anxious, lonely or envious.

Focusing on what you do not have and what lacks in your life is likely to make you feel unsatisfied. Looking at what you do have and are grateful for will instead make you appreciate what you’ve got and also make you feel happier!

Gratitude does not have to be saved for special occasions. You can be grateful for the little things in life, like the weather, for having a delicious meal or for a warm cup of tea. You can even be grateful for a past negative experience which you learned from and made you grow.

Gratitude and The Benefits of Gratitude.

Gratitude can be different things. It can be the feeling of appreciation for life, being thankful or not taking things for granted. Gratitude can also be thinking about how fortunate you are and that things could be much worse when something bad happens. However, gratitude is a positive emotion and gives us a good feeling.

Gratitude is really important to physiological well being. Many studies have been done about gratitude and practicing gratitude has shown multiple benefits. Not only to our mind, but also to our body!
This are the benefits we get from practicing gratitude:

1. Gratitude improves your physical health. People who practice gratitude are more likely to take care of their health and well-being. They who regularly practice gratitude feel healthier, report fewer aches and work out more regularly than those who don’t.
2. Gratitude improves sleep. Gratitude makes you sleep better and longer! This is because it makes you think more positive thoughts before you go to sleep, which calms the nervous system. Counting blessings is indeed far more relaxing than worrying about all you have to do the following day!
3. Gratitude improves your psychological health. Research shows that practicing gratitude improves depression and increases happiness, which in turn leads to a higher well being. Focusing on the good side of life and all you are grateful for, makes you feel better psychologically instead of complaining and focusing on what you lack.
4. Gratitude makes you more present. When you feel grateful you appreciate things more and enjoy every moment. Being grateful for a given moment really maximizes the excitement and satisfaction from what you are experiencing right now, which makes you more present!
5. Expressing gratitude enhances self worth and self esteem. Gratitude can help you to appreciate yourself and see your own value. Also it’s easier to appreciate compliments when you can say thank you and really mean it. Feeling grateful is also making you less likely to compare yourself with others, which can be negative for your self esteem if you do.
6. Gratitude increases mental strength. Gratitude both reduces stress and makes you more resilient to difficult life situations. Feeling grateful also helps people cope with stress and trauma. Studies show that traumatic memories don’t come up as often and intensely to those who regularly practice gratitude.
7. Expressing gratitude enhances empathy and prosocial behavior. Grateful people are more likely to help others and are more emphatic. People are also less likely to be aggressive and take revenge on others.
8. Gratitude helps you create better relationships with people. Saying thank you and showing appreciation both help you make new friends and improve current relationships. New people are more likely to like you and wanting to be friends when you are being positive and showing gratitude. Already existing relationships grow stronger when they feel appreciated by you.
9. Gratitude leads to lasting happiness. Many things give you temporary happiness, like buying something new. The happiness boost from that goes back to normal after a while because you get used to it. This is called hedonic adaption. Gratitude is the counteract for this! Gratitude does not make you take the good things in your life for granted and makes you less likely to adapt to positive life circumstances and finding them normal.

How to Practice Gratitude

Now that you know all the benefits from feeling grateful, you sure want some of that in your life! Here are some ideas to practice gratitude. You can try different ones and see which practice that suits you the most, you like the best and gives you the best result.

1. Write in a Gratitude Journal.

A classical one and the one I do myself! This is a suitable gratitude practice if you like writing.
Choose a time of the day when you can sit down for a few minutes and reflect. Then list five things you are grateful for right now. It can be from today or the last couple of days, weeks or months.

Do this at least once a week. The more we focus on the good things around us, the more we also notice the good things happening in our daily life! Where your attention goes is where the energy flows. A study about gratitude and happiness (Lyubomirsky, 2007) showed that happiness increases with the regular practice of gratitude by writing in a gratitude journal.

There is already so much to be grateful for! It can be simple things, such as having a clean house, or a drinking delicious cup of tea in the morning. But it can also be deeper things, like the beauty of the changing seasons or the love you feel for your friends and family. It can be anything really!

2. Contemplate about what you are Grateful for.

If you don’t like writing so much, this gratitude practice can suit you better!
Choose a time of the day where you can sit and reflect about what you’re grateful for. It can be enough to only do this for five minutes! Just make a list in your head of five things you are grateful for right now and feel the appreciation for it.

You could do this in the morning when you wake up, or maybe do it together with a loved one while eating breakfast! Tell each other what you are grateful for and why. It can be really uplifting to talk about and say out loud what you are grateful for.

3. Express your Gratitude towards another.

If you are particularly grateful for someone in your life, you could give that person a call, write a letter or tell them face to face. Tell them why you appreciate them and how that person has affected you. Just simply tank them for being them!

A powerful exercise is to write a gratitude letter and personally give it to that person. A study about happiness and gratitude showed that this practice had the best effect on lasting happiness. The happiness of the people who wrote a gratitude letter was boosted, and the results were maintained after a week and even a after a month. Isn’t that amazing? You both make that persons day and make yourself happier for weeks after!

4. Feel grateful for the moment right NOW.

This is really simple but may be difficult to remember if you are not used to it. Feel grateful for the moment right now!

For example, feel grateful for the warm water in the shower and your divine smelling soap. Feel grateful for your warm and clean bed with soft sheets. Feel grateful for the beautiful flowers in nature or the smell of rain when you are taking a walk. Feel grateful for spending quality time with your loved ones and seeing them smile.

By focusing on the good you CREATE a happier and more fulfilled day to day life.

5. Gratitude ritual.

You can infuse gratitude in various existing rituals in your life. For example: gratitude meditation or a gratitude walk. Instead of just taking a walk or do your usual morning meditation, you can incorporate gratitude into it.

Take a gratitude walk by being extra mindful. Observe your surroundings and appreciate its beauty, whether it is the dark green leaves of the trees in nature, or cozy city lights in your neighborhood. Be aware of the sounds you hear and smells you sense. Be in the present and feel the appreciation for just simply being alive!

Do a gratitude meditation by clearing your mind and focus on your breath. Once you have calmed down, visualize everything you are grateful for. Meditating itself is already a booster to well being, and including gratitude into your meditation, where you consciously focus on what you’re grateful for boosts your well being even more.

6. Make a gratitude jar.

Before writing this post I had never heard of a gratitude jar before. But when I read about it it seemed like such a fun idea!

This is how it works: Find yourself a jar and turn it into your gratitude jar! You can do this by decorating it with paint, ribbons or just simply write ”Gratitude Jar” on it.
Now every day, you list 1-3 things you are grateful for that day on a small piece of paper, and put it in your gratitude jar.

Over time you will have a jar filled with things you are grateful for! Whenever you are in a bad mood you can just pick a few notes from your jar and read them to feel better.
Another fun thing to do is to read all your notes on new years eve. Then you will be reminded of all the good experiences you’ve had this year, and walk into the new year with appreciation for the previous year and excitement for the new year.

7. Fill in Gratitude prompts

If you have never ever done a gratitude practice before or don’t really know where to start, gratitude prompts can be really helpful! The questions are ready for you and you only have to fill in your answer.

This is a really simple yet effective way to practice gratitude. By answering questions about gratitude you can discovers things you would not have thought about otherwise.

For this gratitude practice I have made a gratitude prompt for you! You can safe the image by clicking on it and pin/save it on Pinterest.

8. Be thankful for your meal.

A really good way to practice gratitude multiple times a day is to be thankful for your food! When you eat, give every bite your full attention. Really see it, smell it and taste it.

Give thanks quietly in your mind or express your gratitude with those around you at the dinner table. Acknowledge the nourishing effect the food has on your body and eat with attention, instead of scrolling mindlessly through Instagram or watching TV.

Apart from practicing gratitude by appreciate every bite of your food, it can also help you make healthier food choices by thinking about how it nourishes your body.

9. Gratitude collage.

This one is fun & creative! Make a collage with pictures of things you are grateful for and hang it somewhere you will see it every day. This way you will be reminded that there is so much to be grateful for everyday!
Seeing pictures of what you are grateful for are also helping you in manifesting more of what makes you feel grateful.

You can add photos of your loved ones, your pets, good food you enjoy, that warm cup of tea or coffee you always enjoy in the morning or your favorite album cover.

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” Oprah Winfrey

Now you know nine different ways of practicing gratitude. This is important to know before you start! –>

One thing that is really important for the lasting positive benefits of gratitude is this: Variety.
A study about gratitude and happiness, found that writing in a gratitude journal one to two times a week lead to greater happiness than writing in it three times or more. The conclusion was that the practice eventually became a chore.

Practicing gratitude every single day, the exact same time and the exact same way may become boring. It is then that you also loose the benefits from practicing gratitude. Therefor it is not recommended to practice gratitude the same way every day. Because then it is more likely that you will get used to it and turns into a mindless routine. This results in not boosting your happiness as much as is could do.

A good solution to this is that you can change up HOW you practice gratitude every week or so. This will keep your gratitude expression meaningful, which then continues to boost your happiness instead of you getting used to the practice.

Gratitude is a key to finding happiness.
We could have it all, but if we don’t appreciate it, what’s the point?
I have really enjoyed writing this post. Even writing about gratitude makes me happy and gives me feel warm and cozy feeling!

It is so important to show appreciation and be grateful for what we have.
Most of our lives are spent inside our head. Make sure it is a good place.

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Sources:

• Sonya Lyubomirksy (2007). The How of Happiness: A New Approach to Getting the Life You Want.
• Positive psychology. Gratitude Exercises. www.positivepsychology.com