At first, it felt like a chore to write down one thing each day I was grateful for. Then after almost a week, I started noticing a shift in the way I felt and how I approached my gratitude exercises.
I was grateful for the little things in my life that I had overlooked and taken for granted before. They were things like:
- Listening to the birds sing outside of my window.
- Eating a piece of chocolate.
- Walking in the garden.
- Staring at leaves and wondering how they changed colors.
- Washing dishes.
You read that last one right, I was even grateful for washing the dishes!
Not only was I grateful for the small things in my life, but they also brought feelings of tremendous joy. I looked forward to writing about them in my journal and it didn't feel like a chore anymore.
Even the thing that I loathed, washing dishes, made me grateful for them. Being grateful was both transformative and transcendent for me because it shifted my perception and made me hyper-aware of the infinite actions that led to that moment.
The most important thing I learned about gratitude was being deeply appreciative of the things that were already in my life and being aware of how deeply we are connected to each other.
Thankfulness, on the other hand, is an outward expression of gratitude that is transactional and spur of the moment. Like when you say thank you to your waitress or when someone pays you a compliment.
This doesn't mean that it's insignificant compared to gratitude. In fact, saying 'thank you' to someone is good practice because expressing thanks outwardly can have a positive & lasting effect on the other person and yourself.
Now that you know about the subtle differences between gratitude and thankfulness, let's talk about their benefits.
How to be grateful and thankful.
The best way to be grateful and thankful is to practice regularly. This requires intention and sometimes a little bit of courage. Over time, you'll be able to reap the benefits of gratitude and thankfulness.
Here are my 5 tips to help you cultivate an attitude of gratitude and thankfulness each day.
1. Start a gratitude journal.
Remember how I mentioned earlier my 30-day gratitude challenge and how it changed my life for the better? You too can start a gratitude journaling to improve your life.
You can start your own gratitude journal at any time and you only need to write down one thing each day that you're grateful for. In addition to this, write how you felt about your experience.
Try to remember the details and be descriptive with your emotions. Here's an example:
I am grateful for watching my dog roll around on the grass with her tongue hanging out. It was amusing, hilarious, and joyful to watch.
Gratitude journaling is a habit, and like all habits, the more you do it, the better you'll get at it, and the more improvement you'll see in your life.
The Five-Minute Journal for Cultivating Gratitude.
2. Say a prayer of gratitude and thankfulness.
Another way to practice being grateful and thankful is to say a simple little prayer to yourself. This is a great way to practice gratitude if writing is not your thing.
I do this regularly in the morning and it only takes a minute. You can do this throughout the day and you can be thankful for anything like, such as your pillow, your bed, or your cup of coffee.
3. Say 'thank you' to someone.
You can express thanks outwardly to another person. You don't have to wait for something big to happen to tell someone 'thank you.'
A simple 'thank you' to your delivery person, your neighbor or anyone you come in contact with throughout your day will suffice.
Not only that, the act of saying thanks will be greatly appreciated by the other person and the positive interaction will uplift you both.
4. Write a thank you note by hand.
Writing a note by hand, let alone a thank you note, is becoming less and less common these days. Thank you smartphones (no pun intended).
In this day and age, when you write a thank you note by hand, it shows that you truly care about expressing your appreciation for the other person.
5. Be mindful.
Mindfulness is a practice that can help you cultivate gratitude and thankfulness because it increases awareness of your thoughts, emotions, and actions.
Awareness helps you appreciate the things and people in your life that you probably take for granted.
Although meditating quietly is the most common type of mindfulness practice, you can be mindful while walking, doing dishes, or driving.
This will take time and patience but the effort will be worth it.
