Gratitude is such a powerful emotion, one that can make your life better in so many ways. It’s quite difficult to feel depressed or sorry for yourself when you are feeling gratitude. In a study carried out by Emmons & McCullough in 2003, there were a multitude of benefits from keeping a gratitude journal, A simple notebook where you write down daily what you are grateful for. The study showed that the people who kept a journal exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic. It also showed that people who kept the journal were more likely to make progress towards their goals. Overall, there was a greater sense of feeling connected to others, a ,more optimistic view towards life and better sleep quality, relative to a control group. If you would like to experience some of these great benefits why not try some of these simple ways to make gratitude a part of everyday.
Here are 40 simple ways to make gratitude a part of everyday.
- Keep a Gratitude journal and add to it everyday.
- Tell someone you love them and how much you appreciate them.
- Notice the beauty in nature each day.
- Nurture the friendships you have, good friends don’t come along every day.
- Smile more often.
- Watch inspiring videos that will remind you of the good in the world.
- Include an act of kindness in your life each day.
- Avoid negative media and movies with destructive content.
- Call your Mom more often.
- Cook meals with love, think of the people you will feed.
- Volunteer for organizations that help others.
- Don’t gossip or speak badly about anyone.
- Spend quality time with your kids.
- Remember to compliment your friends and family when they look good.
- Write a card to someone you haven’t seen in a while and tell them something nice.
- Add to your gratitude list daily, at least one more thing each day.
- When you think a negative thought, try to see the positive side in the situation.
- Commit to one day a week when you won’t complain about anything.
- Try to take note when people do a good job and give recognition when it’s due at work.
- Reward effort, if someone does something nice for you, do something nice for them.
- Meditate with your gratitude list, giving thanks for all your good fortune.
- Live mindfully, not worrying about the past or future.
- Thank the people who serve you in the community. The shopkeeper, the bus drivers, etc.
- Say thank you for the little things loved ones do for you, things you normally take for granted.
- Post quotes and images that remind you to be grateful around your house.
- Call into an elderly neighbor and say thank you for their presence in your life.
- Call your grandparents and tell them you love them.
- Embrace challenges and turn them into opportunities to grow.
- Send love to your enemies or people you dislike.
- Be thankful when you learn something new.
- See the growth opportunity in your mistakes.
- Help your friends see the positive side to life.
- When times are bad, focus on your friends who are at your side.
- When time are good, notice and help others.
- Make a gratitude collage, cut out pictures of all the things that you are grateful for.
- Make gratitude a part of family life, share it with each other during meal time.
- Practice gratitude at the same time everyday to make it a habit.
- Focus on your strengths.
- Share the benefits of gratitude with family and friends.
- Share gratitude each day by posting a tweet, Facebook post or Pinterest.
Be the change you want to see in the world by making gratitude a part of each day. If we all practice gratitude more regularly, the world will be a better place.
Featured photo credit: real.heightz via flickr.com
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