Gratitude isn’t a common habit, but without gratitude, life is more challenging than it needs to be. Feeling grateful resets your perspective, and this is a gift you can give yourself each day. If you find yourself feeling pessimistic or overwhelmed, a little gratitude can get your attitude back on the right track.

Gratitude is free, enjoyable, and effective.

Practice gratitude each day with these actions:

1. Write it down. Make a daily habit of writing down a few things that you can be grateful for. Ideally, you’ll do this early and late in the day. It gets your day off on the right foot and sets you up for a good night of sleep. A daily gratitude practice makes such a huge difference. After just a few days, you start looking for things that you can add to your list at the end of the day. It completely changes your perspective. Download our FREE Gratitude Worksheet here.
   
2. Be grateful for the little things. There are plenty of small things you can be grateful for each day. A great cup of coffee, the sound of birds in the morning, or the fact that you have a new set of tires on your car can all uplift your mood. I try to start my day like this, especially when I feel like hitting snooze a few too many times. I will hit the snooze button and then use that time to think through everything that I am grateful for. It gives me time to slowly wake up my body and puts me in the right frame of mind to tackle the day.
   
   
3. Go for a gratitude walk. This is a great way to get out of your head. Go for a walk and look for things that you can be grateful for. A beautiful tree, a child playing in her yard, a friendly dog, or a nice, cool breeze are all things you could choose to feel gratitude about. I use this technique when I’m having a rough day at work or just need to re-focus. You’d be surprised how much better you feel after a 10 to 15-minute walk.
   
   
4. Avoid making comparisons. When you compare one thing to another, you demean it. Be grateful for something exactly as it is. This applies to people and things. Comparison is the root of many of our feelings of inadequacy, lack of self-esteem, and anger. When you compare yourself to others you are not acknowledging your own unique traits but rather the appearance that others wish to show to the world. Being grateful for what you have and where you are in life is an enormous step towards being successful and achieving your goals.
   
   
5. Tell people you’re thankful. Show people that you’re grateful by thanking them. Whether it’s your neighbor for keeping his yard so nice or the cashier at the store. Be thankful and let them know about it. The simplest act of letting someone know that you are grateful for something they have done lets them know that their actions are important and valued. Which may also increase the number of people they help or improve the way in which they are currently helping others. Don’t you like helping others when you know your help is appreciated?
   
   
6. Enjoy your pet. Pets give us plenty of reasons to feel gratitude. While I don’t have any pets today, I know many people who do have pets. For some o these people, their pets helped them through some of the toughest times in their lives. Some have only known a life with pets as part of their family. Pets love you as you are, unconditionally.  Give your pet some extra attention. You’ll both feel great.
   
   
7. Donate your time or money. Give your resources to something that you think is valuable to the world. It could be a charity or other organization. Time and money can have a great impact. This one is very close to my heart. I am on the advisory council of a local charity organization. This organization helps build families and makes communities stronger. Hearing the stories of the people helped by this organization helped me realize how much I have to be grateful for in my life.  I feel so grateful to be a part of this organization and knowing that my support is helping to improve the lives of and build strong futures for the lives of so many.
   
   
8. Make a list of things that impress you about yourself. Have a little gratitude for yourself, too. What are you impressed by when you take a long, hard look at yourself? What obstacles have you overcome? What goals have you achieved? What did you do that nobody thought you could do? Tracking your accomplishments, no matter how big or small helps you realize your strengths and is a reminder that you are capable. Sometimes in the face of hardships, we feel unworthy or like we are incapable. Reminding yourself of what you have been able to achieve will give you back your sense of accomplishment and provide just that little bit of extra motivation to carry you to the next step. You’ll not only be expressing gratitude, but you’ll also be doing wonders for your self-esteem.
   
   
9. Write a positive review for a business you appreciate. Business owners love positive reviews. It makes them feel good and can boost their business. Be supportive and express your gratitude.
   
   
10. Meditate on the things that you’re grateful for. Put your focus and attention on those things you’re most grateful for. You might develop an even greater appreciation for them. This is something that I love doing and need to start doing more of. Every time I have meditated on the things that I am grateful for I felt such a huge surge of love and even more gratitude towards those things. The feeling is so enormous and almost overwhelming but it is absolutely amazing and I would never want to wish that feeling away. This is by far my favorite way to practice gratitude.
    
    
11. Minimize judging and complaining. Judging and complaining are the opposite of gratitude. People that do this aren’t enjoyable to be around, either. Honestly, nobody is immune to these feelings. If you happen to notice that you are feeling this way, acknowledge the feelings. Own them. Then take out a piece of paper or open a memo on your phone and start listing the things in your life that you are grateful for. Or go for a walk and look for the things around you to be grateful for. This allows you to acknowledge and own your feelings and also take responsibility for improving them.
    
    
12. Be thankful at mealtimes. Since you eat at least one meal each day, this a great way to develop a habit of expressing gratitude. Be grateful for your food and the people sharing it with you. I am a huge believer in building systems that make it easier to achieve your goals. You are going to eat. Take a few seconds to be grateful for the meal and the people you are sharing it with. Taking a few seconds to say thanks is easy to start and will help to start changing your perspective to one of gratitude.

Be grateful for everything you have. Even if you’re struggling to survive below the poverty level, you’re still living better than the vast majority of the world’s population. That doesn’t mean you have to be satisfied with your current situation, but you can still be grateful for what you do have.

Practice gratitude. Your mood and perspective will be lifted. Your opportunities for success will increase. And you’ll receive even more good things to be grateful for!

If you would like to start a gratitude practice, you can download our FREE Gratitude Worksheet here. Use it to write down 3 things that you are grateful for each day.