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5 Ways To Feel More Grateful

I began my 30 day gratitude challenge on Instagram Sunday. Yes, that was November 2nd…so for me, it will be a 29 day challenge. That’s how I roll…late to the table perhaps, but then I’m all in.
Gratitude…is a key component to feeling happy. Even when life is going well, I can always use reminders of ways to feel more grateful. Life throws plenty of curve balls, so concrete tools are helpful for me.

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Help Other People

Donate your old clothes to charity, your old books to nursing homes, your time to a good cause. One of the quickest ways to feel more grateful is to help others improve their lives. Volunteer to read and record books for the blind. Human kindness is the surest path to feeling grateful.Ā Ā Smile at strangers!

Start a Gratitude Journal

Write down 5 things each morning that you are grateful for and reflect on them throughout your day. Try to come up with different things each day. Be grateful you are alive.

Ā Be grateful that you have a glass and there is something in it...

Be Thankful

People tend to overlook the positives in their lives and take them for granted. Be thankful for the blessings you have right now and the experiences that have gotten you, to today. Tell your loved ones how much you love them and remind them frequently. Make someone’s day happier by thanking them for simply kindness or their hard work. Be kind with your words.

Focus on Your Accomplishments

It’s so easy to focus on what you haven’t done, the call you didn’t make, the job you didn’t get. Don’t replay the unfriendly comment you made or the things you wish you’d done. That’s behind you and can’t be erased, so let them go. By focusing on what you’re proud of and grateful you accomplished, you draw more positive energy to you. Accentuate the positive.

Release Old Grudges

Acknowledge and come to terms with your past, but move forward. Holding onto frustrations and angers… robs you of current joy. By harboring grudges or resentment you’re allowing that person to have power over your happiness.Ā Ā  Move on!
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What do you do to remain grateful?

28 Comments

  1. Thank you for your posts, so helpful, true and encouraging.

  2. Great advice. Forgiveness is the tough nut for me.

    1. I hear you! It takes work and many reminders for me.

  3. Anita Rivera says:

    Good morning Jennifer! I am so happy to find you here again; your name was lovingly mentioned in another blog exchange and I had to come by to visit you. Yes, this is a very important way to realize our goals: TO WRITE about them. I find when we articulate what is sometimes difficult to say, we shape our attitudes even more. Lovely entries here….and I wish you a happy weekend! Anita

    1. Hello Anita!
      So lovely to hear from you. Writing our goals down, does make them easier to focus on. We are what we think and so shaping my thoughts in a positive way gets me closer to my goal.
      Thanks for coming to say hello lovely! xo

  4. theduchessofh says:

    I can honestly say; I have never seen the glass as half empty; but I do, on occasion wallow briefly in self pity.
    I’m especially grateful that I have a son, who’s healthy, happy, and honest.
    Saying a prayer of thanks to God every night for another day with my family, and friends, puts me in a grateful state of mind.

    1. You’re very fortunate to have never seen the glass as half empty. You’re doing it right!

  5. Catherine says:

    Thank you for the reminder Jennifer..I love the glass half empty quote…so true!

  6. Barb Fullerton says:

    I loved this. Thanks for the reminder! Aptly-timed for me.

    1. Thanks Barb. It was aptly written for me!!

  7. Absolutely lovely post. I need to be more mindful of all the wonderful things that happen in my life, and i am thankful for them. Thanks for highlighting the glass, too – so basic, so essential.

    1. Thanks Deb. Basic blessings are so easy to overlook so reminders always help me šŸ™‚

  8. I couldn’t agree more, Jennifer. Feeling grateful for having that ‘glass’, doing for others, and moving on in life makes the journey of life exponentially more gratifying. The little slights and negativity simple don’t matter in the grand scheme. Living an authentic life and being grateful for all we do have feels so good. Love this post.
    xx

    1. Thanks friend! Life is too precious not to live each day with gratitude and joy! xo

  9. I am grateful for all I have.My family ,my health and all my friends in blog land.Of course, certain things could be better but overall I have nothing to complain about.I live a gilded Life……..and I am so HAPPY to be here.

    1. That’s a perfect term to describe your life…gilded!

  10. These are good! I’m usually good about thanking people but not in expressing gratitude for good fortune such as good health and not having the tragic misfortune that others endure.

    1. I’m great at thanking people too, but I have to work on appreciating what I have. I’m always a work in progress:)

  11. This is just beautiful…..to be grateful for a glass. The basics. Deeper than the water. That’s so true. And just before I sat down to read this, a neighbor stopped by, a cowboy of sorts, who commented on all the rain we got last night. “Rainy nights,” he said, when I’m lying warm and dry in bed and can hear it on the roof, “always makes me really grateful that I have a bed and shelter.” Isn’t that nice? I didn’t expect it from a burly cowboy.

    1. That is nice! A perfect example of focusing our gratitude on the simplest blessings. The basics.

    1. It is, it is! If I can focus on gratitude my happiness quotient soars.

  12. Jennifer it is how I start every day. I have so much to be grateful for , especially these past few years during the multiple surgeries I have had. So many friends, family and my faithful followers have been here for me with so much support and encouragement.
    I can never than everyone enough!

    xoxo
    Karena
    The Arts by Karena

    1. You’re such a gracious example of this Karena! Enjoy your week. xo

  13. Hi, Jennifer, lovely post, and it struck just the right note with me this morning, so thank you!

    To remain grateful? I stare at the sky. Wherever I am, if I feel a touch of Envy sneaking up on me, or its close relative Pity (as in, oh poor thing well I’m glad that’s not me) – I stare at the sky.

    Oh, and old books, especially paperbacks – they go to VA hospitals via Operation Paperback, which collects and does the packaging.

    1. I hadn’t heard of Operation Paperback! That’s great. The old envy/pity struggle is pesky and persistent. I try to nip that puppy in the bud, as soon as it rears it’s head.

  14. Bluebooby says:

    I see the bigger picture…where I’ve been, what I’ve done, who’s been with me along the way. My father and I have recently started volunteering with Mobil Meals. We not only are doing a good service, but also get to spend all morning once a week together. I like the glass empty/full quote above…just be thankful.

    1. How wonderful that you and your are Dad are doing that! I think that’s wonderful. You’re also blessed to have your Dad to spend time with. But you knew that:) I also like to focus on who I’ve been fortunate to know and share time with.

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