Here are 10 Ways to Practice Gratitude
1. Keep a gratitude journal. At the end of each day, write down 3 -5 things for which you are grateful for in the day.
2. Make a gratitude jar: every time something amazing happens, whether big or small, write it down on a piece of paper and fold it up and place it in the jar.
Then, on a challenging day, you can pull out a paper and remind yourself of something wonderful that happened.
3. Say a few words of heartfelt gratitude for your food before you eat a meal. Give thanks to all the people who worked hard to bring the food to your table.
Give thanks for the farmer, the wholesalers, the retailers, the delivery people, and if you happen to be in a restaurant, the chef, cooks, and servers who all work hard to bring you delicious and nourishing food.
Savor your food and try to eat mindfully. Focus on the texture, color, and flavor of the food as you chew each mouthful and give thanks for the nourishment this food brings to your body.
4. Keep a gratitude stone in your pocket. It may be a beautiful stone you found on the beach or on a walk, or a stone you purchased, one that already has a positive memory associated with it.
Every time you touch the stone, it will trigger you to think of something you are grateful for.
5. Look in the mirror and give thanks to your body. Thank it for supporting you, carrying you, nourishing you.
Thank each part for the constant and faithful work it does for you in keeping you active each and every day.
Thank your legs for transporting you, your arms for being able to hug your loved ones, your hands for being able to lift and sort, and use tools.
Thank your eyes for seeing the way, your ears for hearing and your mouth for communicating and tasting.
6. Give thanks for your breath. Life is a mystery and a miracle and every breath you take is a gift that has been given to you.
Imagine yourself breathing in thanks, and breathing out peace. As you breathe in, imagine the feelings of gratitude washing over your body on the inside and outside, instilling in you a sense of peaceful calm. As you breathe out, let that sense of peaceful calm carry out into the world around you on the outbreathe.
7. Keep a list of all adversity that you have overcame in your life, and keep it current.
Gratitude for your own strength, and ability to walk to the other side when hard times hit hold a lot of value.
8. Consider the lessons you learned through adversity, and there is always at least one.
Keep a track of those, be grateful for each one, as these help shape, and mold your own personal growth.
9. Share what you are grateful for around the dinner table with your family and encourage each one of them to do the same.
For example, it might be one thing you are grateful for that happened to you today. Say, “I am grateful for…what about you?” Go round the table in this way. If you have young children you could make a game out of it and see who can come up with the most things they are grateful for on that day…
10. Every morning, give thanks for the new day that has been gifted to you.
