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Imagine that it’s Friday night and you’re feeling unhappy. But right then your friend comes over with a pizza, a board game a pint of ice cream. Your friend’s thoughtfulness will likely fill you with gratitude. Gratitude is feeling thankful for someone’s help.
Understanding the meaning of practicing gratitude in everyday life is the key to being happy. You can be happier when you learn to recognize that you’re not alone and you have people who look out for you. Gratitude is about appreciating what we have instead of focusing on what we don’t.
We’re all guilty of taking things for granted at some point or the other. Whether it’s the people in our lives, our accomplishments or even something as simple as our everyday comforts. If we can practice gratitude, we can find joy in the little things.
Being grateful is directly proportional to the quality of your life. It’s something that can help build our self-esteem and teach us the value of self-love. Let’s explore how you can practice gratitude for a better life.
How To Practice Gratitude
Sometimes, it’s okay to be grateful within but, at other times it’s important to express it. If you can let someone know that they mean a lot to you, it can bring you closer to them.
American writer Gertrude Stein said, “Silent gratitude isn’t very much to anyone.”
Practicing gratitude isn’t only about writing thank-you notes, although this is a good first step. There’s a lot more to it than you’d imagine.
The important thing to remember is that it starts with you. Appreciating and loving yourself comes before acknowledging the people in your life.
Here are a few ways of practicing gratitude for yourself and others:
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Express Your Emotions and Feelings
Say that you’re thankful in more than two words. Be explicit if you want to make someone feel appreciated and loved. If someone helps you in a difficult situation, meet them in person instead of responding with a text message. Take them out for a meal to show that you’re grateful. But if you’re better at writing down your feelings, feel free to write them a letter or leave them a meaningful message.
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Do Something Nice for Yourself
Today, the world is changing at lightning speed. But no matter what changes life brings, you can always count on yourself. Discover a new passion like gardening to spend more alone time. Revisit your past accomplishments and give yourself a pat on the back. Go out alone and enjoy a day doing everything you like. Not only will you find comfort in your company but you’ll also learn things about yourself that you previously overlooked.
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Check in With Your Loved ones
The year 2020 has been a challenging one for almost everyone. Many of us have family or friends living in different cities or countries. It’s important to check up on them to see how they’re doing. They might be going through a difficult time or feeling lonely. Your presence could probably brighten their day and give them the strength to keep going. Being available is one of the simplest ways to practice gratitude.
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Try to See the Positive Side of Things
It’s easy to fall down the rabbit hole when you’re thinking negatively. This could be a result of working too much, stressing about the future or being unhappy with where you are right now. The best way to deal with this is to change your situation. If you don’t like something, see what you can do to change it. You could tell yourself that things will be better or give yourself a pep talk every morning before you start your day. These are daily gratitude practices to lift your mood.
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Learn from Your Mistakes
If you’ve done something wrong, instead of feeling dejected you can always learn from it. Nobody’s perfect and everyone’s trying to be better every day. Maybe you said something hurtful to your colleague or friend so a sincere apology will do the trick. You can make a conscious effort not to repeat your mistakes. This will help you become more responsible and take ownership of your words and actions.
Practicing gratitude is important for a fulfilling and meaningful life. You can even add daily gratitude practices like keeping a gratitude journal where you reflect and write down what you’re grateful for. Learn how to enjoy your work and life with Harappa Education’s Discovering Purpose course. Take the necessary steps to revise your goals to be the best version of yourself. Finding your passion will help you acknowledge how far you’ve come and encourage you to make progress in your career.
Explore topics such as What is Gratitude, Humility & How to be Humble from our Harappa Diaries section and lead on a path of self-development.
