What is gratitude? It’s a feeling of appreciation towards someone for their kindness. Gratitude can also be feeling grateful for the people, the things, or the life that you are currently living. There are so many things to feel grateful for, it doesn’t have to be just appreciation towards someone else. Lately, gratitude has taken a life of its own. You can find gratitude journals among other products and so many quotes on the subject. However, how often do people really practice gratitude? Also, does it really make a difference?  

The world can be a very difficult place and it doesn’t take much to find problems in need of solutions. People are always running from one place to the next, and we never seem to have enough time. We also keep on moving the happiness goal post. We achieve one thing, and we are already thinking about the next goal, and when we achieve that goal, we think about the next one. We tell ourselves that once we achieve certain thing, we will finally be happy. However, if we keep on moving the target, we are never going to hit it. We will just keep on chasing it.  

A way for us to finally be happy is by practicing gratitude. When our focus is only on the future, we don’t see all the things that we have at the current moment. We always want more, and it is never enough. This type of mentality leaves us feeling unhappy and unaccomplished. Remember that at one point, the things that you currently have in your life were the goals that you were trying to achieve. Feeling grateful for everything in your life gives a sense of accomplishment and a confidence boost. You are able to enjoy the now and appreciate all the hard work that went into making your dreams come true.  

Why is it important to live with an attitude of gratitude? When we have a bad day, it is easy to concentrate on all the things that went wrong. Maybe you were running late to work and didn’t have time to eat breakfast before you went into the office. If one thing goes wrong, it might be tempting to think that the rest of the day will just get worse. When we stay in that negative mentality, it is easy to miss the things that went right. Like, maybe your coworker bought you lunch since you forgot yours at home while trying to get out of the house. It is easy to spot the negative things in our life. It is much harder to find all the things that are going right. That takes more effort and intention. Remember that the things we pay attention to, that’s where our energy goes. When we concentrate on the negative things, that makes us feel sad, resentful, frustrated, and lonely. This type of attitude can even lead to suicidal thoughts. Feeling like our life is not worth living. However, when we keep an attitude of gratitude, it is easier to see the good things and extend grace towards the things that didn’t go so well. This will in turn make us feel more hopeful, happy, at peace, among other positive feelings.  

If you are having a hard time practicing gratitude, an easy exercise is to write three things that you feel grateful for every single day. If you miss one day or two, that’s fine. Get back on track as soon as possible until it becomes a habit. Writing things that you are thankful for will help you feel happier in life. By the way, who doesn’t want to live a happier life?