3 Reasons You Should Practice Gratitude Every Day

When we get caught up in the business of life sometimes we forget to take time to appreciate all of the good things going on in life. Practicing gratitude is a great thing to do not only during the holiday season but all year round!

Being gracious has many benefits for your mental health, your outlook on life, and it doesn’t take long to do. All the more reason why practicing gratitude should be added to your every day routine.

There is something to be said about how our thoughts contribute to our mood for the day. More often than not when we focus on the negative thoughts going on around us, we are going to see the negative things around us. Creating a negative environment around us.

Daily Gratitude is Great for Your Mental Health

When we change what we focus on, such as things we are grateful for, we begin to make a shift in our minds. That shift is going to have us view the world in a different light, a more positive light full of gratitude. 

Now, that’s not to say that practicing gratitude every day will take the bad days away. But they will make the harder days a little bit easier knowing we have so much to be grateful for in our lives. According to a study done looking at how gratitude affects your brain, it can have long-term benefits!

Practicing Gratitude Daily Takes Only a Few Minutes

Practicing gratitude only takes a few minutes, or even seconds, every day! There are so many different ways to practice gratitude and you can do it throughout the day as well!

I write down something I am grateful for every day in a journal so I can look back and see all of the great things going on in my life if I am ever feeling down. Other times I message a friend something I am grateful for them for. Not only does that help your mindset, but it is also setting your friend up for a positive day as well!

Whether you are writing down something you are thankful for daily, telling someone you are thankful for them, or having those gracious thoughts in your brain they don’t take much time and do so much good in our lives! Our thoughts become our actions and how we view the world. Having positive thoughts = a more positive world.

Practicing Gratitude Daily Helps You Redefine Your Priorities

The more we practice gratitude daily in our lives, the more we will begin to see common threads popping up in our lives whether they are negative or positive. If you begin to notice those negative areas in your life, you can use your gratitude practice to change your views on them.

I’ve realized in my life areas that I continuously knockdown with negative thoughts. I have taken a more conscious effort to acknowledge those thoughts and find something in the situation I can be grateful for. Realizing I am having those negative thoughts has helped me realize I need to change that situation so it isn’t bringing me down.

The great thing about being human is we are able to make conscious decisions to change our life. Change our words. Change our thoughts. All of which affect how we come across the world. If you aren’t happy with your job, you can still be grateful that you have a steady income while you find something more fulfilling.

Changing the way we frame our thoughts is going to change the way we view and interact in our world. I challenge you today to find three things to be grateful for. They don’t have to be big. Today I am grateful for my dogs, heat during these cold days, and the benefits of working from home.

Let me know in the comments what you are grateful for today!

This post was written by Kayla Bowie. You can find her on Instagram: kaylacoffeechats or on her website: kaylacoffeechats.com