Our perspective changes completely when we learn to incorporate gratitude in our daily life. It improves our overall mindset on top of allowing us room to grow a better relationship with ourself and with the people around us. However, being grateful every day is something a lot of people fail to accomplish.
Life has its ups and downs. One way to overcome this is through gratitude. But how can we apply gratefulness as a part of our everyday? The answer is simple: we practice daily gratitude, even if in the smallest ways possible. The more you notice the small moments to be grateful for, the more you will be able to recognize the good things around you.
Why You Should Practice Gratitude Daily
The foundation of a healthy positive mindset is simply being grateful with the way life is. Practicing gratitude in our everyday helps us improve and grow a better mindset where we focus on positivity. What makes daily gratitude an amazing thing is the way it affects our approach towards negative situations. Instead of brushing off bad thoughts and feelings, gratitude lets us accept them and see the good that comes with it.
Practicing gratitude can occur in several ways. It can be done through acts of appreciation, expression of thanks, and something as simple as daily reminders.
Here’s a list of six ways you can practice gratitude daily:
1. Just take a look around.
Gratitude starts with the simplest things. The color of the sky when the sun starts to set, a group of ducklings tailing a mother duck, a bee landing on a flower, and even the sound of trees dancing in the wind. If you think about it, they’re really nothing special. It’s just the usual occurrences you would encounter on a usual day. But they are also the beautiful things nature provides. Even that is something to be grateful for!
When our minds are too occupied with negativity, we tend to forget there’s beauty around us. And with that, we end up taking advantage of nature and what it has to offer. Take time to simply appreciate what surrounds you, whether it’s a sunny day or a rainy one.
2. Find a way to remember.
Practicing daily gratitude is more than just a task you could check off your list, but there’s no harm in reminding yourself to be grateful each day. In fact, being reminded to be grateful is effective. There are several ways for you to do this, too.
An example is through Three Things Daily. Here, there’s a digital gratitude wall where you can post three things that you’re grateful for today. It’s a great way to practice expressing gratefulness especially when you’re just getting started. The wall features the community’s answers as well as your own, which gives you a good look at how gratitude can change perspectives.
3. Start a gratitude journal.
Most people would recommend starting a gratitude journal. This is comparable to the Three Things Daily gratitude wall, but instead it’s more personal. Keeping a journal is one way to talk about your day. However, with a gratitude journal, it focuses on reminding you of the good things around you.
A gratitude journal allows you room to record events and reflect on them on a daily basis. Doing this improves your mindset by focusing your mind onto positive aspects. Say, a rough week had just passed. The week after, you’re feeling much better than you did the week before. Looking back at your gratitude journal will give you a clear picture of what there is to be grateful for. In a sense, it helps you pay more attention to what really matters.
4. Ask yourself three questions each day.
Whether it’s through online platforms or a gratitude journal, it’s good to practice asking yourself three questions each day. Dedicate a few minutes of your day to reflect on what has happened so far, both with what you do or with the people around you. By asking yourself three questions daily, you get used to the idea of finding at least one good thing each day -which will eventually lead to daily gratitude in the long run.
The questions you ask yourself don’t have to be complicated either. The following are examples of questions to ask:
- What have I received today?
- What’s the most beautiful thing I’ve seen today?
- What difficulty did I encounter and how did I overcome it?
- Who stood by my side today?
- What’s the best thing I was told today?
5. Say “thank you” whenever you can.
As simple as it sounds, saying thanks does a lot to the person you’re telling it to. It helps you in practicing gratitude while showing appreciation for those who do you good. With that, you would be spreading the positivity and make others feel good.
Saying your thanks doesn’t always have to be because others do something for you. You can say thank you to people who have been good to you in the past. It could also be for small acts of love and care. Appreciating what people do for you helps with practicing gratitude in a way that makes you realize what you’re grateful about towards certain people.
6. Share and express your gratitude to those around you.
Expressing gratitude doesn’t only mean finding positive things and focusing your mind on them. Rather, it’s also about sharing it with the people surrounding you. Doing so builds the relationships you have with others, therefore creating stronger and closer bonds.
You can show people you are grateful for them in lots of ways. For example, giving back to your mother by allowing her a day to relax without worry. Or maybe letting a friend know your thankful for having them around by giving them a small present. These little acts add up to something that can change their lives more than you think, and in a good way too!
