There are many things we can do that give us an instant reward, but few are as healthy for you as gratitude. While gratitude requires a lot of consistent practice, it has never failed to work on changing my state of mind. Life is all about perspective, and gratitude has a way of grounding us and reminding us that we already have everything we need.
We’re constantly seeking more, and it can be upsetting when things aren’t going away. But don’t we have enough already? We should always keep striving for better, while being truly thankful for what we have. Because who we are is enough, what we have is enough, and what we do is enough.
Gratitude morning texts
Sending good morning texts gets a whole lot better when you mix in a little gratitude. Ask a friend or your partner if they’d be up for exchanging three gratitudes every morning. Your partner will lay out three things they’re grateful for that morning and you’ll send yours. It’s so simple, but it starts your morning off well. Even on the worst of mornings, there’s always something to be grateful for––even if it’s just sunshine or clean drinking water.
Gratitude walks
Have you been on a walk lately without your phone? If not, here’s a fun way to enhance your walk without technology. Start listing off the things you’re grateful for––verbally or silently. You can go into what you have and what you don’t have yet. Talk about what you don’t have as if you already have it. It totally gives you those happy feelings even though you’re not there yet. It helps you picture it and feel like it is possible, because hey girl––your dreams can come true if you believe in them.
Gratitude journal
You knew this would be on the list, but I’m going to make it a little more interesting than writing down what you’re grateful for everyday in a regular old gratitude journal, which is totally a good way to do gratitude, of course. All you need is a journal, and if you’re like me, you already have several blank ones lying around––but you’ll probably still use this as an excuse to buy a new one.
Whether you use a gratitude journal or make your own, the ritual of it is what’s so empowering. You either wake up or go to sleep thinking about all the wonderful things in your life.
Gratitude tracker
If you bullet journal, you can create your own gratitude tracker. You write down all the days in the month (find some examples on Pinterest for layout ideas!) and write one or two things you’re grateful for there. If you love being held accountable, it’s a good way to visually stay consistent, because if you miss a day, your tracker isn’t complete.
Gratitude Facebook group
Have a group of friends who are also looking for a gratitude practice? You can make your own Facebook group and make it into a daily challenge for 30 days of gratitude, where you list 1-3 things each day that you’re grateful for. This could be a great way to keep up with friends in a contained way, without blowing up the group chat. You can check in once every morning or evening. You can also join a gratitude Facebook group like The Gratitude Circle, where you can scroll through hundreds of gratitude posts and contribute your own.
If you don’t want to commit to a Facebook group, try to show your friends that you are thinking of them with tagging them in posts on Instagram or Facebook that make you think of them. I have a couple friends who do this, and it always makes me smile.
Gratitude jar
A gratitude jar is an ongoing project that you can start at the beginning of the year to document all the good things that happen throughout it––from the big life changes to the small ones that made you so happy. It’s basically a memory jar for the great life moments that make you grateful to be alive. And at the end of the year, go through them all to re-live it.
Thank you emails
As obvious as sending thank you notes might be, sending an email (or even physical card if you have an address!) to someone who has shaped you or inspired you can make you feel so good. Do you have any teachers that have inspired you? Maybe told you that you were a good writer, and now you blog or write books? Or maybe encouraged you to pursue your dream job? There’s probably a lot of people who have impacted you that don’t know the impact they’ve made on you, and now is a great time to let them know.
Stream of consciousness
If you’ve been in a funk lately, one way to change your state of mind is to list every single thing you’re grateful for on paper and don’t stop until you’re feeling warm inside. It’s amazing how our biggest problems can melt away when we realize how many blessings we have in life. Yeah, life isn’t perfect, but it’s not nearly as bad as we make it out to be sometimes.
Gifts
Start a practice of buying thoughtful gifts for your friends and fam as you see them. It’s never fun when you’re frantically running around trying to find the perfect gift last minute. Spontaneous acts of giving are also so fun. You don’t always need an occasion to show your love to someone. Treating someone to a coffee, especially a stranger can be a sincere act of gratitude –– especially if you’re in a drive thru and they can’t thank you.
When’s the last time you showed a little gratitude? Let us know some more fun ideas in the comments!
