This is the second post in a two-part series on the benefits of gratitude. Last week, I shared how starting a gratitude practice changed my life years ago. You can read more here. This week I’m diving deeper into the benefits of gratitude and discussing ways that you can incorporate gratitude into your own life.
So how does gratitude benefit us? Research shows that there are actual physiological benefits of practicing gratitude, including lower blood pressure, decreased chronic pain, and a strengthened immune system. Psychological benefits include increased happiness and optimism, as well as higher levels of joy and pleasure. Gratitude is also good for strengthening relationships and increasing feelings of generosity and compassion towards others.
Gratitude enables us to celebrate the present. Focusing on things that we are grateful for each day allows us to appreciate the here and now. In practicing gratitude, we become more active participants in our lives. It helps us to make the most of what we have and where we are at the moment.
I think one of the best things about gratitude is that it actually has the ability to block negative emotions. Robert A. Emmons, professor of psychology at UC Davis, is a leading expert on the science of gratitude.
He says “Gratitude blocks toxic emotions, such as envy, resentment, regret and depression, which can destroy our happiness.” Emmons adds, “It’s impossible to feel envious and grateful at the same time.”
I think that’s pretty amazing. The next time you find yourself scrolling social media and feeling envious of someone else, stop for a minute and practice gratitude. List three things that you’re grateful for in your life and see if it doesn’t take care of that jealousy. We have a choice in where we focus our attention; choose gratitude over envy and I guarantee you’ll feel better.
So how can you start a gratitude practice of your own? It doesn’t take much. Below are some ways that you can begin incorporating gratitude into your everyday life.
Write it down.
Get a journal and dedicate it solely to your gratitude practice. Physically writing down what you’re grateful for helps to solidify it in your mind. It’s also really nice to be able to go back and look at your list when you’re having a hard day and feeling particularly down.
Commit to writing down at least three things everyday that you’re grateful for. If you can think of more, which I bet you can, keep writing. Setting aside a specific time of day for your gratitude practice can be helpful. Listing what you’re grateful for in the morning is a great way to start your day. Or you can choose to write your list before you go to bed, which will help to solidify the good parts of your day in your mind.
If you do it daily, practicing gratitude will become easier with time. The longer you stick to a gratitude practice, the more natural having a grateful mindset will become.
Practice mindfulness or savoring the moment.
Mindfulness is defined as “the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something with all of your senses.”
Another way to practice gratitude is by being more mindful. Take the time to really appreciate happy moments and be present with them. Pause to acknowledge your gratitude and take a moment to really enjoy the good things in your life.
Slow down and savor the flavor of your favorite meal. Is there a certain texture that you love to feel or a smell that brings you joy? Taking the time to be more mindful and really appreciate these things will serve to increase your feelings of gratitude, joy, and contentment.
Appreciate the people in your life.
We can also use gratitude to celebrate and show our appreciation for the people in our life that we’re grateful for. During your gratitude practice, if you write down a certain person that you’re thankful for, go a step further and text them or send them a card letting them know how much they mean to you. This can strengthen our relationships and boost life satisfaction for both us and the people in our lives.
One year, I made a “gratitude jar” for each of my parents for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. I created 30 little notes where I wrote a happy memory that I had with them or something about them that I was grateful for on each piece of paper. I bought a pretty container, rolled up all 30 notes, and put them inside.
I gave my parents the instructions to read one note each day for an entire month. I can’t even tell you how appreciative they were of this gift. It was relatively easy to make, cost me very little, and meant so much more to them than a store-bought gift. Sharing your gratitude with others just serves to strengthen the bond that you have with the people in your life.
Practice self-gratitude.
Practicing gratitude for ourselves is a great way to increase self-esteem and feelings of self-worth. Take some time to list the things that you love and are grateful for about yourself. Practicing self-love is so good for our souls.
What is your favorite personality trait that you possess? What do you love about your body? What have you accomplished in your life that you’re proud of? Be sure to write these things down in your gratitude journal.
Focus on the small things.
Having gratitude for the small things in your life—things that you might otherwise take for granted—can be powerful. A sunny day, a comfortable bed to sleep in, clean sheets, the smell of a home-cooked dinner. These are all small things that we might typically take for granted or not even notice. But when we begin shifting our focus and become grateful for these little things, we start to realize how many blessings we actually do have in our everyday lives.
There are so many things that we may take for granted everyday. Our health, for example, or our ability to walk, talk, and see beautiful things. There are people out there who don’t have these abilities. When we start to see these things as gifts that not everyone has, we are reminded of how abundantly blessed and lucky we really are.
Life is short and nothing is guaranteed. Things can change in an instant. We could become sick with cancer or be in a car accident that takes away our ability to walk tomorrow. We could lose the people that we love at any time. That’s why it’s so important to be grateful for what we have today. Treasure your good health and the people in your life.
When you begin incorporating a gratitude practice into your life, you will quickly realize how many blessings surround you everyday. Commit to starting a gratitude practice of your own and see if it changes your perspective on life.
To help you get started I’ve created a new 5 Day Gratitude Challenge that you can access by subscribing below. It will help you to start seeking out the goodness and beauty in your life. Once you begin practicing gratitude regularly you’ll begin to see just how much goodness really is all around you. If you let it, gratitude just might change your life too.
I LOVE the gratitude notes in a container idea as a gift! Great post!
Thank you! My parents loved that gift and it was pretty easy and cheap to make. My mom still has all the little notes I wrote 😊
So many great ideas! I am trying to practice more gratitude and this will really help. Amazing post as always 🙂
Thank you, Julianne. I hope these tips do help you!
Loved this. Gratitude is so important. My favorite tip you give is the focus on the small things one. I know for me personally, doing that changed so much for me.
Thank you. That’s my favorite one too 😊
I really needed this today thank you
Gratitude is very powerful! Love this.
You’re so welcome. Hope it helped!
I really needed this today thank you I need to practice this more
Great Thoughts!!!
Thanks!
Love this post. I’ve been trying to do daily gratitude and daily devotionals for probably almost a year now. It’s such a great thing to do!
So glad you liked it and that you’re doing your own gratitude practice!
Practicing gratitude has improved my life significantly. I write down 5 things I am grateful for every morning and night and it has allowed me to change my mindset from negative to positive. I love this post and think everyone should read it! Thank you.
Thank you, Brie. So glad to hear that gratitude is also helping you!
At the end of last year, I was just coming out of some pretty difficult things in my life and I had committed myself to doing 365 days of gratitude for the entire 2020. Within just 3 days I literally found myself changing my entire mindset about life. That is around the time I choose to start my own blog. With all of the events in the world going on, I seem to have forgotten that promise to myself. My challenge was to find even one thing to be grateful for including when my days were terrible, because that is when it is the hardest. I talk to my clients all the time about gratitude. It is so important ! This is a beautiful article and one I will refer back to often as a reminder of what it is I need to be doing more of.
Thank you, Nancy! I hope you can get back into practicing gratitude for yourself. It’s so helpful 💕
practicing gratitude is a wonderful in so ,many ways.
it helps you in direct and indirect ways.
thanks for sharing!
Thank you for reading!
This is a great post – thank you for sharing! I think people really underestimate the power gratitude can have in our lives. I’ve recently started writing down 3 things in the morning during my morning writing and one at night when I log my day – SO powerful! Always keeps me in the reality that I am so blessed. 🙂
It is so powerful. Glad that you’re practicing gratitude in your own life. Thanks for reading!
“Gratitude blocks toxic emotions, such as envy, resentment, regret, and depression, which can destroy our happiness.”
It’s amazing when you think how much power a small shift in mindset can have. I’m so grateful that I’ve started a gratitude routine. It never fails to pick me up when I’m down. Thank you for the lovely read!
You’re so welcome. It is amazing how powerful gratitude can be. Glad to hear you’re practicing it in your life too!
Excellent read. It’s so needed. Gratitude always makes us feel better.
Thank you!
Such a heart warming blog post. It’s always important to incorporate gratitude in your every day life. Thanks for sharing so many great experiences.
You’re very welcome, thank you for reading!
I love the gratitude jar idea!! I’m definitely going to make a few :). I love this series you’re creating. Gratitude is so important! 🙂
I was really thinking of ways to bond with my parents and notes in jar idea is the perfect gift! Thank you so much.
You’re very welcome!
Great post! I really love the idea of the gratitude in a jar gift. My parents have everything, they’re impossible to shop for, so this is what I’m going to do for their next gifts. Thanks!
Kristyn – thequeenofmycastle.com
Thank you. If they’re anything like my parents, they will love it so much!
Such a great post! I firmly agree with you. Gratitude is such a powerful, powerful thing. My mom always sang to me “count your blessings – count them one by one. count your blessings till the day is done” and that really stuck with me because you never want to forget what you’ve been given + what you’ve created for yourself. there’s NOTHING too small to be grateful for!
These are fantastic tips! Thank you so much for sharing 🙂
I started incorporating more gratitude in my life at the start of the pandemic. I was spending less time with my family and friends and I was fortunate enough to keep my job. I focused on all of the positive things in my life and it helped so much!
Such great tips here, Samantha! The one about “self-gratitude” is particularly significant for me. I am much faster to critique and put myself down. It’s an important part of the overall equation to view yourself with appreciation too. Thanks for this!