11 Steps to Become More Grateful

“The root of joy is gratefulness...It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.”
― David Steindl-Rast

The daily practice of gratitude is consistently related to increased happiness. As said above, by being grateful we experience true happiness. In this blog post, you’ll find 11 ways to attract more gratitude in your life and welcome the sweetness of joy in your heart. Here they are:

1. Keep a gratitude journal

The most effective and recommended step to practice gratitude is to write about what you’re grateful for every day in your gratitude journal. The key is consistency.

You might not notice changes in just a week but if you keep going you’ll start to realize the many blessings that exist in your life and the lightness of joy blooming in yourself.

2. Be expressive about joy

If there is something that elates you, be expressive about it, even if it’s simply a cat sleeping adorably on a table.

Life is full of small wonders to an open heart that looks for them. Try to let go of others’ judgment about your excitement for trivial things and embrace your fascination without constraints.

3. Appreciate others

Do you remember the last time someone really appreciated you? When you were caught by surprise because of their gratitude. It’s a great feeling, to be appreciated, it stays with us for a long time.

Let’s do the same ourselves. Going past the generic “Thanks” let’s express why someone or something they did value to us.

It’ll make their day even if they might shy away from telling you that it did. You can read more in our post about the best way to spread gratitude around with ideas about the people you can appreciate.

4. Look at challenges as opportunities

We all go through sticky situations here and there. Some of us go through a lot of them, and I don’t mean to be positive in a toxic way by saying that every problem can be an opportunity for you, but some of them can.

When you’re faced with a challenging situation, take a moment to ask yourself if this is a lesson in disguise, or an opportunity to do more. If it seems so, try to focus on how you can use it to help yourself and develop instead of slowing down.

5. Thank yourself

The one person that you should love most and be grateful towards is yourself. You have been a constant support system in your life.

When times were rough, and doubt took shelter in your mind, you made it through or might be trying to right now. Being grateful for yourself and your life is essential to living gratefully. You deserve your love and gratitude before anyone else.

6. Re-frame negative thoughts

It so happens that we tend to think of the negative first and create a spiral of what all could possibly go wrong when faced with a problem. It happens with how we react to ourselves as well.

One mistake, and we start to question so many things. In moments like these, it’s good to take a step back and see if there is a better way to respond. Search for the silver linings. You can read our post on reframing your mindset and thinking positively here.

7. Appreciate your journey

One of the many parts of yourself that you can feel grateful for is your journey. Take a moment and run the movie of your life through your mind.

So much has happened in those years, you’ve grown and become much wiser, and you’ve surpassed all the challenges that life threw at you. It’s a thing of beauty, and I hope you’re proud of yourself.

Even if you might be struggling right now, have faith in your strength, and remember to feel grateful for all that you have achieved through the years, big and small, tangible or intangible.

8. Help others

It’s quite a special feeling that one experiences when they do something nice for someone with no expectations. Try and recreate that feeling for a moment, it feels so good, right?

It makes us realize what truly matters is that we all look out for one another and grow together. There is a mutual exchange of gratitude. The giver appreciates having the means and capability to help someone out and the receiver feels grateful for being cared for by another person.

9. Give time to hobbies

Investing time in doing something simply because it makes you feel good is a wonderful way to become more grateful. Think about it, aren’t we fortunate to have hobbies or favorite things to do?

Listening to your favorite album, painting, strolling, binging your favorite TV series, chatting with your best friend, leisurely driving, etc, are activities that you should not deprioritize as more responsibilities come your way.

They are as important as your other commitments. Remember that gratitude comes easy to a heart that is already happy. Try to take breaks for your jolly time, whenever you can manage.

10. Don’t compare yourself

This is a surefire way to disempower yourself. Looking up to someone is great, but harshly questioning why you’re not like them is never going to help.

Whenever there is someone that you think is doing better than you, look for what you can learn to bring yourself up, not tear yourself down by unfair comparison.

We all have unique journeys and we move at our own pace. All we can do is give our best and keep trying.

11. Savor the moments of joy

As we practice gratitude, even the smallest blessing that we would’ve ignored before shines bright with joy to us. When something fortunate happens, even if i’s just the traffic lights turning green right when you arrive, really appreciate how that helps you.

Many small moments happen for our benefit and if we treat them with as much attention as any other lucky moment, we’ll keep receiving more of them. Let’s bathe in the goodness of gratitude as much as we can for all that we can.

And, that’s all! These were 11 ways to become more grateful in life and improve our well-being with time. Hope that you found these helpful. Wishing you a wonderful grateful time! Take care :)

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