5 Easy Ways to Practice Gratitude
Oct 07, 2021
How often do you take time out of your day to be grateful?
Life moves fast, and it's easy to take people, situations, and things for granted.
Gratitude practices have risen in popularity over the years as more and more people recognise the benefits.
There are many science-backed benefits to support introducing a regular gratitude practice. For example, practising gratitude for a few minutes daily can enhance empathy, self-esteem, and mental strength while decreasing stress, anger, and envy.
So how can you improve your gratitude practise to reap the full benefits?
1. Journaling
Gratitude journaling is a technique that involves keeping a diary of things you're grateful for every day. This is one of the most popular ways to practice gratitude.
You can do this at the start of the day to put you in a good mood or just before bed to reflect on the positive parts of your day. Some starting points:
- Recount a recent positive experience
- Describe an important person in your life
- List three things you are grateful for
You can use a physical diary, post-it notes, the notes app on your phone, or your computer. Whatever works best for you.
2. Meditate
Meditation is a great tool to help you sit with the feelings of gratitude and experience them at their full potency. Gratitude meditations are great to do at the start of the day, as it sets you up with an optimistic perspective, or just before bed to help you wind down.
You can choose to meditate on things you're grateful for, or you may find it easier to meditate on how you've gotten to where you are now.
You can also follow a guided gratitude meditation, which will walk you through the process of feeling gratitude.
Here are some great guided gratitude meditations to help you get started:
3. Visualisation
Arguably one of the simplest ways to cultivate gratitude is to visualise and feel the emotions of the things you are grateful for. This can be done anywhere at any time and takes only a few seconds.
To add some structure, pick a time each day to close your eyes and think about the things you're grateful for. Then, spend a few minutes thinking about the sensations you felt when something good happened to you.
Additionally, it may help to think about someone who has done something nice for you and mentally thank them.
4. Find something new every day
Listing the same thing each day can send your brain into auto-pilot, preventing you from experiencing the full effects gratitude can offer.
Try and find a new thing each day to be grateful for and get specific. For example, instead of writing "I am grateful for my family," write "Today my sister bought me an unexpected coffee, which made me feel appreciated."
Notice the little things in your day which make you happy and why or how they do that. Then, try and find a different moment from each day that made you smile.
5. Gratitude Wall
We've created a gratitude wall —a space to acknowledge, share and embrace kindness.
Have a look at the wall here.
When you practice appreciation, your brain will be programmed to look out for more things to appreciate.
Our digital wall is designed for you easily share the things you are grateful for. Access our free online templates, fill them out with words or pictures, send them in and watch them appear on our wall for you to access any time.
So write a love note to someone. Share a happy memory—express gratitude for the small things.
Find the wall and contribute here.
