How to be a More Grateful Person

How to be a More Grateful Person

Have you ever felt drained or empty inside and felt that your life lacked joy and happiness?  Have you ever experienced feeling ill and hopeless and did not know how to overcome it?  If any of these scenarios describes you, this article will discuss how to be a more grateful person and transform your life.

To change your life, we will review the definition of gratitude and guidelines you can take to improve your attitude and gratitude towards life:

  • What is gratitude?
  • Focus on what you have
  • Starting a gratitude journal
  • Choose to be happy
  • Stop comparing yourself to others
  • Let your actions be done in love
  • Become a giver

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Let’s discuss how you can improve your gratitude and transform your life.

What is gratitude?

Gratitude is defined as being thankful and expressing appreciation for the kindness shown towards us.

Our attitude is a reflection of the gratitude we feel for life. When we feel grateful about our lives, it translates into an attitude of appreciation.

However, what happens when those feelings of gratitude disappear, and we seem to have lost our compass?

A life without gratitude can leave us discontent and pessimistic about life.

A person holding a sign that displays the word grateful

Focus on what you have

When we no longer have gratitude for the simple things, it can zap our energy and, ultimately, our overall happiness. A way to start changing how you feel is to focus on what you have instead of what you do not have.

Begin to take a look at the small, ordinary things in life. Your family,  friends, health, and peace of mind are a great way to start. Reflect on what you have and let these thoughts marinate in your mind each morning when you wake up and each night before you go to sleep.

Start a Gratitude Journal

In the book, The Power of Gratitude: 7 Steps to a Happier, More Successful and Meaningful Life, by Daniel J. Martin, Martin provides an in-depth look at the causes of unhappiness we experience in life due to living busy lives and not taking the time to appreciate what we have.

He takes a deeper look at actions that can be taken to use a journal to develop a habit of documenting what you are grateful for and being able to measure your growth over time.

The benefit of using a journal is that writing down what you are grateful for and journaling this over time provides a record of your progress that can serve as an inspiration and a testament to others on how your life has changed.

Make a list of all the things you are thankful for. For example, if you have a house, write that you are grateful for the shelter. Likewise, be thankful if you have food and a bed to sleep in.

As each day begins, make it a habit of writing down at least 5 to 10 things you are grateful for.

Also, thank God in advance for what you ask Him for. For example, if you want a new job or help with starting your own business, or getting a new car, or house, learn to thank God for what he has already done in your life and praise him in advance for what you are asking for.

Choose to be happy

There is a quote that says, “Happiness is a choice, not a result.”

In life, we will experience challenges and situations beyond our control. However complex the problem we encounter, our response to it determines how we grow.

Learn to see the blessing hidden in every situation that you encounter. Then, when faced with life challenges, ask yourself what God is trying to teach me and look for the hidden good that can be learned from the lesson.

By focusing our perspective on the good that can be learned, we can transform a negative situation into a positive one.

Start each day with a mindset to be happy and treat everyone you come in contact with a spirit of happiness. Smile and speak a word of encouragement to someone and watch how this affects you and the other person.

Stop comparing yourself to others

When we compare ourselves to others, we limit our ability to be our natural, authentic selves.

As children, we spend our time trying to fit in. Then, to avoid being bullied, teased, or talked about by others, we begin to let others control our behavior.

As we grow into adulthood, social networks affect our subconscious minds and thoughts.   We begin to view what others have obtained or accomplished in life as a measurement of what to compare our lives to.

However,  focusing on comparing ourselves to others can lead to feelings of emptiness or distress that affects our overall happiness.

Instead of comparing ourselves to others, use their success stories to inspire you to write your own success story. Then, start where you are, write down your goals for you to reach, and use these to measure your personal growth.

Please share your success stories to inspire others to achieve their goals, not as a comparison but as a celebration of progress and accomplishments.

Let your actions be done in love

Don’t hate or hold grudges. Life is too short. When you have a grudge, you give power over to the person you are angry with. Learn to forgive and let go of the  pain so that you are free from being held hostage to it

Being mad at someone or something over a long period can impact our mental and physical health.

Imagine keeping anger bottled up inside your body and never releasing it positively, constructively. If left unmanaged, it can lead to long-term health issues.

To reduce anger, you can use affirmations to increase the vibration of your soul.  Let InnerTalk help you develop the practice of affirmations to change your life.

Also, learn to forgive and let your actions towards others be done in love. Use empathy to express compassion and forgiveness to others as a way to heal our minds and soul.

As we become empathetic toward others, we energize our bodies to vibrate at a higher frequency level which helps us be happier.

Become a giver

Our time on earth is limited. As we journey through life, we recognize that all the material things will be left behind at the end of our lives. These material things, such as houses and cars, can also perish over time.

What we can do is leave a legacy of giving to others as a footprint for the time we are here. Giving of ourselves, our time, our talents, and our efforts to enhance the lives of each person you come in contact with can trigger a positive reaction in others.

Think of it as paying forward a seed of blessing to others to come. Each of us makes a difference. When we ignite the greatness within ourselves to inspire and help others, we cause a chain reaction that can result in a worldwide change.

Live your life as a contributor to share your gratitude and inspire others to do the same.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we have defined gratitude and how a life without thankfulness can impact our overall mental and physical health.

We have discussed guidelines you can take to improve your gratitude.  These guidelines included focusing on what you have, starting a gratitude journal, choosing to be happy, stopping comparing yourself to others, letting your actions be done in love, and becoming a giver.

Now the next step is to apply these guidelines to activity.  We can think about changing all day, but the question to ask yourself is if you are committed to changing your life by using gratitude.

Please share what actions you have taken to become a more grateful person and the suggestions of your own life experiences that can help others.  Thank you for your time and support.

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