“Count your blessings.” You’ve heard it so many times it may not even register anymore. But when you actually take a moment to think about what you’re glad for in your life, it feels good, right? That’s sometimes easier said than done. With so many tasks, chores, and responsibilities, it can be hard to focus on the things in your life you feel gratitude for. Luckily, there are tips about how to be more grateful so you can remember and feel more optimistic in your daily life. Start the positive habit of feeling more grateful today!
Benefits of Being More Grateful
Turns out it’s not just a fleeting feeling; studies show that regularly naming the things you’re grateful for has huge benefits to your life and health. Among other positive effects, having more gratitude may:
- Help boost your mood
- Enhance your immune system
- Lower blood pressure
- Improve sleep
In addition, having more gratitude in our lives can make us feel more positive and hopeful about the world. What could you accomplish with a positive attitude today? How would you interact with your loved ones if it always came from a place of gratitude?
5 Simple Ways to Be More Grateful
But how do you do this, exactly? By using proven ways to invite more gratitude into your heart, health, life, and spirit. Here are 5 ways to be more grateful in your daily life.
1. Keep a Daily Gratitude Journal
Like anything else worthwhile, gratitude takes practice. And most experts recommend practicing by writing it down. A daily gratitude journal list in which you jot down five things each morning can be a great help. Start by opening up to a blank page and thinking about all the reasons to give thanks in your life. Or you can find a gratitude buddy you email or text every day. Some people keep a gratitude jar. If you’re a devout non-writer-downer, try numerating your gratefulness each night before dinner, or counting blessings instead of sheep at night, naming the best stuff as you drift off.
2. Train Your Brain to Seek Good
Gratitude studies have revealed that details make it stronger. Instead of listing “my health” and “my wonderful family,” try something like: “being able to hike on Saturday without getting out of breath” and “eating my sister-in-law’s delicious veggie lasagna.” This will help train your brain to seek good—a helpful, neurology-altering talent, especially if you’re prone to seeing what needs fixing. Consider also paying attention to the characteristics of grateful people in your life. What do they focus on? How do they view the world around them?
3. Thank People Often
Sharing your gratitude can benefit both you and the person you’re thanking. On a regular basis, think of people to write little thank you notes to show them how much they mean to you. Be specific, thanking people for an action or simply for who they are to you. The recipient can be a friend or a relative, a public figure or an author—someone who has moved you. Make sure it’s simple and sweet—all about them, a small, potent word-gift from your heart to theirs.
4. Give Yourself a Gratitude Intervention
If you’re feeling down and your head is filled with negative thoughts, it’s time for a gratitude intervention. Even if it’s not your regularly scheduled gratitude time, grab a piece of paper (real or digital) and write down five things you’re thankful for in vivid, specific detail. Maybe it’s about finding the gem in a lousy situation: “I’m so glad for the nurse who cared for my mom with such tenderness.” Maybe it’s about noticing the one good thing that happened that day: “The sun was shining right in my window all morning.”
5. Re-Play Happy Moments
If you are having a hard day and can’t focus on how to be more grateful, look to the past. Take the steps to turn those gripes into gratitude. Remembering joyful life events and savoring how they make you feel imprints them in your emotional brain. The next time something wonderful happens—a vacation, a fun day with a friend, a spectacular visit to nature—write it down soon after. Note exactly what made you so thrilled. You’ll get to re-live it while you write it and you’ll have specific memories preserved that you can look at when you need a boost.
Remember that you can always find a reason to be thankful. Learning the steps about how to be more grateful will help you focus on those things every day and improve your life more than you can imagine.
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