If you practice gratitude on a regular basis, then you know that things will always be okay. No matter how bad something is, there’s this light at the end of the tunnel. You appreciate the good times, you learn from the bad times, and you stay humble. It’s a magical thing. If you don’t practice gratitude on a regular basis, you may find that things always seem bad. Nothing ever seems to go right. Nothing goes according to plan. There’s a solution: gratitude.
Gratitude is “the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.” It’s a practice of taking a step back and being thankful for everything that is going right. And guess what? There’s always something to be thankful for. Being alive. Having your health. Working and bringing home an income. Even in the darkest times, you can always find something to be grateful for. Keep reading for 5 ways gratitude can make for a richer life.
5 Ways Gratitude Can Make for a Richer Life
#1 Gratitude allows you to see the good in your life
When you practice gratitude, it forces you to think about the things you’re grateful for. When you have something to be grateful for, no matter how big or small, you’re able to see the good things in your life. You’re able to recognize that there is some good happening to or for you. Seeing the good in your life helps you focus on the positive. Over time, the focus on the positive will significantly take over any focus on the negative.
#2 Gratitude makes you a humbler individual
“Woe is me” is not something humble people say or feel. Humble people aren’t afraid to learn from their mistakes. They’re not afraid of bad things happening – because they practice gratitude. They don’t take their current situation for granted. They appreciate all they have and how far they’ve come.
Practicing gratitude naturally helps you become a more humbled individual. Humble people lead very fulfilling lives – not just because of their gratitude, but because they cherish the things that are going well.
#3 Gratitude opens the door for better things to come your way
Have you ever noticed that when you focus on the positive, more positive things seem to happen? On the flip side, when you focus on the negative, more negative things seem to happen? Almost as if what you focus on becomes your reality. Well, the mind is a powerful tool. Don’t believe me? Listen to episode 4 of the City Girl Savings Podcast: Why Mindset is Critical and How to Start Changing It#4: Why Mindset is Critical and How to Start Improving It.
When you practice gratitude, you’re essentially forced to look at the positive. When you start looking at the positive on a daily basis, you naturally become a more positive individual. Guess what happens next? More positive things will happen to you! Practicing gratitude opens the door for good things to come your way because it naturally shifts your perspective to a positive one.
Obviously, I don’t want you to practice gratitude so good things can happen to you. I just want you to know that good things WILL happen to you because of you practicing gratitude regularly!
#4 Gratitude keeps you focused on your goals
Let’s say your goal is to lead a healthier lifestyle. As you complete your daily gratitude practice, you may be grateful for choosing a salad over a burger. You may be grateful for getting outside for a walk. You may be grateful for skipping the desert the night before. All of these things that you’re grateful for are helping you keep the focus on your goal of leading a healthier lifestyle.
As you move in the direction of achieving your goals, you’ll notice that there are things to be grateful for in relation to moving in that direction. This helps to keep your goals front and center and allows you to recognize the progress you’re making towards them – big or small. Check out the article 6 Easy Tips to Keep Your Goals Front and Center6 Easy Tips to Keep Your Goals Front and Center for a few other ideas!
#5 Gratitude promotes self-love
Because gratitude requires you to think about the things you’re grateful for, it naturally challenges you to think about the things you love about yourself. These don’t have to be physical things either. For example, I recently listed one of the things I’m grateful for about myself is the fact that I do what I say I’m going to do. I consider myself a person of integrity, and I pride myself on being true to my word.
As you start to show your gratitude towards your qualities, you start loving on yourself more. Gratitude is such a self-love promoter. If you aren’t great about loving yourself, start thinking of things that you’re grateful for about your looks, personality, or actions. There will always be something to find!
Related: 5 Ways to Tap Into Your Gratitude
Not sure how to go about practicing gratitude? Write down 5 things you’re grateful for everyday! They can be the same things, new things, small things or big things! As you become consistent, you’ll notice your natural state of thinking will be to show appreciation for things that happen to you.
Do you practice gratitude on a regular basis? What benefits have come your way for being a grateful individual? Drop your comments and experiences below to share!
1 thought on “5 Ways Gratitude Can Make for a Richer Life”
I fell off using my Start Today journal but recently started picking it back up. You start each day’s entry with 5 things you’re grateful for, and I love it!