3 Simple Ways to Practice Gratitude that will Change Your Life

Practicing gratitude is a simple but a very powerful way to change your state and your life as well. If you want to know why gratitude is so important, how it can help you, and get some tips and examples on simple but powerful ways to practice gratitude then continue reading.

Probably you have already heard a lot about gratitude. A lot of people talking and writing about it. They usually share their stories about how gratitude helped them. I am also one of these people who practiced gratitude and saw many benefits from it. That’s why I decided to write about it and share my experience and some practical tips. I hope to inspire you to start practicing gratitude so you will also get all the benefits.

How does Gratitude Work and Why is it So Important

Why being grateful is helping us to change not only how we feel but our life as well?

When we feel grateful, we usually focus on something that we consider “good”. It can be something that we appreciate or like. Something that makes us happier and brings more value to us and our life.

If instead you are in a state where you don’t feel happy, you are or worrying, maybe feel stuck because of some problems, or just feel upset or angry, then it’s quite likely that you are focusing on something that you consider “bad”.

There are always many different things that happen in our life. Some of them we see as bad ones, and some others as good ones. Even if someone says that everything is bad, it is quite probable that there is still something positive or good in their life. For example, it can be something that they don’t want to lose. But of course, focusing on the fear of losing something is not how we practice gratitude. It is just a tip to find these good things to give them attention and maybe more appreciation and value.

You can look at your life and see that there are many things that you like. It’s easier to practice gratitude by starting with something simple like a bed where you sleep every night, coffee that you drink every morning, people you have in your life, your house, town or country where you live, the nice weather, or something that made you smile today.
You can even start focusing on things like the fact that you are alive, you can breathe, you have this body and you can feel tastes and smells, you can see things. You can focus on the fact that you can go out for a walk and get some fresh air or sunshine and enjoy nature.

For example, after I spent the first lockdown in Italy and I couldn’t go out at all for almost a month, I was so happy when I finally went for a walk. I really enjoyed walking, nature, fresh air, and sunshine. But we don’t need to wait for some limitations or problems to happen to start being grateful for these simple things. We can learn to enjoy all the opportunities that we have right now. But don’t do it from fear. Do it from gratitude.

Maybe it doesn’t sound very inspiring to focus on these simple things when you struggle with some problems or challenges. However, I am just giving an example here. You need to find your reasons to feel grateful if you want to change your state. Practicing gratitude really works, and I am saying this based on my own experience.

I practice gratitude a lot. I have my ups and downs, and of course, sometimes I can be in a negative state. But one of the things that I am doing when I want to change it is practicing gratitude.

3 Simple Ways to Practice Gratitude

1. Writing a Gratitude Journal

Writing a gratitude journal doesn’t take much time, but it’s better to write it every day. It can take 10-15 min in the beginning, but then it will become even quicker. By writing it regularly, you create a habit to find some positive and good things in your life.

What can you write in the journal?

You can write anything that you appreciate in your life in general. If you struggle to find them, you can use some of the examples I mentioned above to get some ideas. But for a gratitude journal, it’s even better to focus on things that you’ve noticed during the day. Anything that you consider as good or positive, no matter how small or simple it is. There is nothing really small because all these simple things make our life. When you focus on them, you change the way you feel.

For example, a pleasant conversation with someone, receiving good news, watching an interesting movie, eating a delicious meal, getting enough sleep, someone complimenting you. You can also focus on your small achievements like finishing something, doing what you were delaying before, trying something new, and others.

I don’t ask you to believe me. I just recommend you to try it, so you will see the results and make your own conclusions. You can feel a bit better already after the first time you start writing the gratitude journal.

You can also check this blog post for more Journaling Tips and Ideas

2. Writing a Gratitude Letter

Another thing that you can do is to write a gratitude letter where you can mention everything good that happened in your life. Here you can focus on big things. Something that maybe happened many years ago, but you still remember it. You can list everything that comes to your mind since your childhood. Everything you can see as good or maybe lucky, all your blessing, everything you feel grateful for.

By writing this letter, you will see how changing your focus changes your state. But it is just a one-time thing. Creating a new habit takes time, that’s why writing a gratitude journal can be so helpful. If you do it every day for at least two months (ideally 90 days) you can get long-lasting results. That’s what I usually do with different types of journaling when I want to change something in my mindset, create a new habit or change a thinking pattern. It helps me to feel differently and as a result, make better choices and take different actions.

3. Morning and Evening Gratitude Questions

I can talk a lot about gratitude because it is something that really helped me in the past. Practicing gratitude showed me how quickly things can change in my life. It is also one of the easiest ways to start feeling better emotionally. It works better when you write things down, but it’s not necessary.

 For example, you can think about it first thing in the morning to create a better state for the day. When you wake up, ask yourself a question: What am I grateful for? And give yourself a few minutes. For sure you will find something. You can do the same in the evening before going to sleep. Ask yourself: What am I grateful for today?

Start Practicing Gratitude Right Now

By using these 3 simple ways to practice gratitude you’ll start to feel the changes very soon.

You will regularly focus on things that you already have and like. As a result, you will start finding them more and more in your life.

You will teach your brain to focus not on the problems but on the solutions because you will be in the right state for it. State of seeing good things, appertaining them and creating even more of them. It is a state of growing and moving towards your happiness or other goals.

I hope now you are inspired enough to practice gratitude. I am sure that you will get amazing results by doing it.

And if you want to know more about manifesting your dreams check this blog post about practicing gratitude with the law of attraction.

For more tips on self-development and transformation visit my youtube channel about Transformational life coaching