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Gratitude is the ultimate hack for happiness. It is backed by brain science and the happiest people I know are the ones that find joy in the smallest things-a morning cup of coffee, a beautiful flower, a delicious meal.
When you’re feeling stuck, bitter, overwhelmed, or sad the most effective thing you can do to flip your mindset is add intentional gratitude to your day. What you focus on expands, so when you focus on simple joys, you will start to find more of them. It’s like a happiness avalanche that slowly builds until, before you know it, you’re covered in good things.
The best thing about developing a practice of gratitude is that it is simple and takes up very little time. Here are some simple ways to add gratitude to your day.
Write down 5 things, every day.
Every morning, begin your day with writing five simple things that you are grateful for. These can be small, simple things that bring you joy or a sense of peace. Something as small as a favorite cozy sweatshirt, a good pair of shoes, the feeling of a good pen to write with, or a quiet morning before the hustle of the day. Be sure to write your gratitude-preferably pen to paper, but you can also add them to your notes section in your phone or a Google Doc. Taking the time to write (or type it) helps you focus more intentionally and allows you to look back later for inspiration and reflection.
Photo Album
Create a photo album on your phone with pictures and images of things you’re grateful for. Add 1-3 each day. These can be people you love, nature, or even a photo of a meal you enjoyed. Occasionally open this album and look through to be reminded of all of your daily blessings. I like to make slideshows with photos and videos of my blessings and add music I love. This is a great thing to pull out and watch on the days you’re struggling to find the good.
Romanticize your life
Some of the happiest people I know have mastered the art of romanticizing the mundane. Romanticizing is simply the act of being present in the moment that you’re in and noticing the beauty in ordinary. Romanticizing is infusing your daily routines with mindfulness. Relishing your shower-taking your time to enjoy the feeling of the water on your skin, the suds of the shampoo, and putting on lotion after. It takes some practice and intentionality-you have to learn to put away distractions for a few moments and really step fully into the moment that you’re in, but romanticizing your life can be a beautiful way to infuse joy into an otherwise “boring” grind.
Be present and intentional at least once every day.
Sipping coffee, flipping through a book or magazine, taking a walk, sitting outside, in the car listening to music. Find at least one slot of time during your day to really focus on presence. Eliminate all distractions-put your phone on airplane mode, quiet your brain, and really “be where your feet are.” Take a few moments to reset and really connect with yourself.
Tell a stranger you are grateful for them and why.
Often, we get caught up in our own busy lives and we look right through the people that we interact with on a day to day basis. Everyone is going through challenges and one simple word of gratitude or affirmation can make all the difference. We often take for granted the people that help add convenience and service into our lives. The grocery store clerk, Door Dash driver, restaurant server, bank teller, secretary. If someone gives you excellent service, tell them. Tell their boss. Leave a rave review on the website of a business or share a positive experience you had on social media. Drop off a box of cookies for office staff at your dentist’s office as a thank you for excellent treatment. Find ways to show your appreciation for people that may be often overlooked.
Tell someone you love that you are thankful for them and why.
Sometimes, the people that are closest to us are the ones that get the worst version of us. It’s a hard truth. We often assume they know how we feel about them. We take them for granted. We get comfortable. Show your gratitude for the people that love you and impact your life most. Tell them how much they mean to you, pick up a favorite snack for them, leave a sweet note for them to find. You will both feel gratitude in your heart and will add gratitude to theirs. It’s a win-win.
Write about what challenge or hard thing that you are grateful for.
While it’s easy to feel grateful for the best things in our lives-a home, family, good friends, a job that provides-it’s not as easy to find gratitude in the hard things. Sometimes it’s the most difficult challenges in our lives that add the most good. Maybe a diagnosis inspired you to make the health changes that you needed. A divorce that gave you a second chance at life and happiness. A person that hurt you, but made room for the people that were meant for you. Write down an event or person that challenged you and identify all of the positives that came from that experience.
Eat a food that you are grateful for.
Enjoy it. Remove any judgement or guilt and just indulge in the pleasure of eating it. It can be a “healthy” or “unhealthy” food, but you want to choose something that doesn’t make your body feel like crap after.
Move your body.
Move your body in any way that feels good. Write down all of the parts of your body that work well and thank them. Focus on all of the things that your body allows you to do right now. Movement and exercise is another proven method to make you feel happier-so you’re actually doubling the happy with this one.
Write a thank you letter to your current self from your past self.
Spend some time thinking about how who you used to be got you to who you are now. Write a letter to who you were then. Let that person know what decisions they made that you are grateful for, because they led you to where you are now.
Journal Prompts
In addition to your five grateful things each morning, go a little deeper with journal prompts surrounding gratitude. I like to do this at night, before bed so that I am going to sleep with a clear mind and a heart filled with thankfulness. You don’t need anything fancy, I just use a blank notebook and my favorite pens. I write the prompt and answer. You can google your own prompts or try these 105 Gratitude Journal Prompts to get you started.
We all get stuck in life. It’s easy to get stuck in a loop of negativity, bitterness, and anxiety. Luckily, it’s also easy to flip that around by simply adding small gratitude practices to your day.
