4 Ways to Make Gratitude a Daily Practice

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In my article about the power of gratitude I outlined the reasons why everyone should incorporate more gratitude in their lives. For most us, we tend to focus on what we are grateful for a few times per year, if we’re lucky. Thanksgiving is one of the most loaded holidays because it was meant to remind us to be grateful for what we have, but instead we decide to tax our bodies by stuffing them to the brim with fatty foods and falling asleep in front of the television. This is hardly the way to focus on what we are grateful for.

So how exactly do you, as a busy person with many things on your plate already, add gratitude to one of your daily practices and habits? It’s no surprise that most things that you should do daily would be easily done early in the morning or late at night before you go to bed. Think about it, we tend to be the most consistent when it comes to things we do in the morning and at night. We brush our teeth, floss, brush our hair, shower, get dressed (either for the day or in our comfiest PJs). So why not add just one more step to our morning or nightly ritual? Here’s how to make gratitude as easy and as natural as brushing your teeth.

Gratitude Journal

Start with writing in your journal. If you are not journalling yet, you should investigate the benefits of keeping a daily journal to explore your thoughts. Many successful people keep a journal of their daily activities and their thoughts. For one thing, keeping a journal helps you to pin down your feelings and thoughts about the circumstances in your life. If you don’t know how you feel about that new job offer, then how can you expect to make the right decision of whether to take it or not?

Similarly, by sitting down and writing out what you are grateful for every single day, you will find out what is important to you right now. You might not have come to realize that you really love your apartment and that the house you were looking to buy wouldn’t be as easy to maintain as your apartment is. This might help to clarify some of your personal goals, while at the same time making you feel good about what you have right now!

10/10 Gratitude Technique

Another interesting gratitude technique is that of the 10/10 journal. It is similar to the basic gratitude journalling method, where you write down things you are grateful for every day. Except the trick here is the following: you write down 10 things you are grateful for right now, then on the next page or at the bottom of the same page, you write down 10 things you wish you had right now.

This simple technique has made huge impacts on my life personally, and other people have also reported great results with this technique. So how does it work? Essentially by pouring your heart out over what you are grateful for, you are entering the state of gratitude. Then by writing the things you would like to have right now, you apply your feelings of gratitude to them and stop worrying about these things. But eliminating worry and questions of “how am I going to make this happen in my life?” you focus on how happy and grateful you are, and you magnetize these things. Try this simple technique for one month and you might find that all of your worries will be gone.

Waking up to Gratitude

Starting your day with gratitude is just as powerful a way to start your day as having a power healthy breakfast. When you wake up in the morning, focus on what you are grateful for. Forget about the deadlines, the boss, the chores and the worries for awhile. Focus on what you have to be grateful for. Put on some happy dancing music as you perform your morning routine and say “thank you” to everything you touch, to everything you do and just immerse yourself in gratitude!

Gratitude Quotes

Another fun way to add more gratitude into your daily routine is to place some gratitude quotes all over your house or car. This way every time you might feel the pressures of daily life, you can simply turn to these fun gratitude quotes and say “thank you” to the authors of these enlightening quotes. Knowing that other people sometimes had challenges will also help you to focus on how lucky you are to be living today in this beautiful world of ours.

Say Thank You

Finally and most importantly, say thank you to everyone you meet. I’m not saying you should say empty “thank yous” to anyone on the street. You might get a few weird looks if you do that. But instead try to really convey your gratitude for people’s services, whenever they help you out, smile at you, or otherwise add something to your day. You have no idea how much gratitude can transform even the most estranged of relationships.

Thank You For Reading This

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Summary
-Write a gratitude journal
-Do the enhanced 10/10 method of things you are grateful for, and those you want
-Wake up feeling grateful
-Post gratitude quotes around your home
-Say thank you more often

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Comments

One Response to “4 Ways to Make Gratitude a Daily Practice”

Jonathan Mead on February 28th, 2008 3:04 pm

Great article Nathalie. I especially liked the 10/10 idea and waking up with gratitude. I’ve been trying to practice every day waking up with a smile, instead of grumbling, “it’s time for me to wake up again, arggh”. I think the key is remember what you are grateful for when you awake and making sure that you are doing what you want to do when you wake up. If you wake up to a job you hate, it’s unlikely you’ll feel a strong desire to smile. =)

Thanks for the insights Nathalie.