On Gratitude

You’ve probably heard about gratitude practices being an important part of your morning routine/night time routine. But even though you keep hearing about gratitude everywhere, maybe you’ve found yourself wondering what the point of it even is. What is gratitude really good for?

Turns out… expressing gratitude is good for you.

It nourishes your soul and helps you manifest more effectively.

Here are some ways that this works!

This post is about the benefits of gratitude and how gratitude helps you manifest.

Benefits of Gratitude

Appreciation from an outside perspective reflects your power to you

When you look back on the memories of good things that happened to you, this puts you in the perspective of the observer. As the observer you are here in the “now” looking in from the outside at a moment that occurred in the past (“then”). From this perspective you are able to appreciate just how far you’ve come. See what you have already manifested! And recognize that you are constantly growing and changing and manifesting.

The Universe responds to gratitude

When you express gratitude to the universe for giving you good things, the universe wants to give you more. The more appreciation you express, the more you signal to the universe that you’re holding open space to receive more goodness.

And gratitude for something before it has happened automatically puts you in the energy of having it already, so that it is more easily drawn to you.

Gratitude is a powerful lens through which to experience life

Gratitude is a lot like what you see with “lucky girl syndrome” (which is in a big way confirmation bias at work). When you choose to see the world as full of blessings, you will constantly see an abundance of blessings coming upon you!

Gratitude is a powerful, positive lense for seeing and experiencing life.

When you are grateful for everything and see everything as a gift, then you will continue to receive more gifts from the universe, because this is the energy with which you are receiving these life experiences: as gifts!

The consciousness you choose to live from is what shapes the world into the reality you end up creating.

Choosing to lead a grateful life brings you more abundance, radiance, and care from the universe. Give yourself the gift of a grateful life.

So gratitude enhances the beauty and magic of everyday life, and it can help you manifest your desires! But how can you practice gratitude in your regular routine?

Here are some simple gratitude practices. Feel into which ones resonate with you and try them out. If it feels good, go ahead and incorporate it into your daily routine.

Gratitude Practices

Morning gratitude

Upon waking, feel yourself alive and thank the universe [or insert your preferred name/entity] for what you are grateful for.

These can be anything as long as they are true. It’s best to express gratitude for things that you feel a deep inner genuine thankfulness for. This sets your emotional, mental and energetic mood for the day.

Keep it going for at least 5 things you are grateful for. Better yet, keep going. Can you go for 90 seconds? Longer?

I like to do this when I’m in bed, sometimes even before I open my eyes. This way you start your day feeling great about all the wonderful things in your life and you have a glass half full kind of view to start things off and carry you through the day. You lead from a sense of abundance, joy and gratitude which can brighten the tone of your day by a mile.

Gratitude journal

Instead of just thinking it out, you can also write the things you are grateful for. This practice is like the one above, but during a journal session when you’re more awake.

This doesn’t have to be in the morning, either. It works great at night too. (Or anytime, really.) This can actually be a really nice way to close out a day because no matter how bad a day has been you can ALWAYS find something to be grateful for.

Gratitude for hard things

Think about the lessons and growth that came out of challenges.

It can be hard to feel grateful for things that you might want to label “bad” on the surface, but making meaning out of these situations puts you in the driver’s seat of the circumstances. You have agency to learn and grow from it and not be a victim. You have agency and can make it a part of your story to continue on a path of your choosing.

This is more challenging work than simply listing what you’re grateful for, like the practices listed earlier. Those things, especially as you start a gratitude practice, can tend to be obvious blessings; not the hidden ones.

But by taking the time to find the gift in a hard situation is a strong mindset shifter. You are reframing something potentially disempowering and reclaiming your power. You are rewiring your brain to look at challenges as learning experiences and setting yourself up for a better approach to future difficulties. You are learning your lessons and gaining wisdom, which is giving “future you” help in a big way.

Tell someone

Be vocal about thanking people. Let someone know that you appreciate them. Mean it when you say it.

Gratitude towards others is a beautiful and powerful way to spread your light. This is an instant connection that lifts both you and the recipient up. This is light work and raises the vibration, energy and consciousness of the collective.

Monthly highlights

Collect memories of things to be grateful for throughout the month. You can write these down in your phone, a journal, a planner, a jar, really anything that you like!

Personally I have a section in my planner where I write down highlights of the month on a designated highlights page before each month’s weekly spreads. I update it throughout the month as good things happen so I can revisit all the highlights in one place where I’ve written them all down.

Part of expressing gratitude is even remembering to go back in your memory and review what you’re grateful for. Having a monthly highlights review makes it easier to do this, and it feels great to be able to flip through as the years pass by and relive special moments that are all too easily forgotten otherwise.

Reviewing what you’re grateful for in this way also means you get to experience the gratitude for these moments more than one time. You get to be grateful again and again, constantly living in a state of appreciation (which, remember, opens you up to constantly receiving more).

Gratitude Affirmations

Here are some sample gratitude affirmations. You can use these in your own practice, customize them to fit your life, or just take inspiration from these.

Thank you for another day on Earth.

Thank you for the people I love and the people who love me.

Thank you for my body that carries me through this life.

Thank you for the bed I am in, safe and sound.

Thank you for my health and resources.

Thank you for giving me the gift of this life in this form and with these experiences that I get to share with the world.

Thank you for the food and water that nourishes me and allows me to move through the day with strength and energy.

Thank you for the sunshine and oxygen that sustains me and our planet.

CONCLUSION

Being grateful is being in the energy of receiving good things from the universe. By appreciating what you have, you invite more goodness in to your world. Remember to take time to express gratitude in your daily life. You will feel better everyday and blessings will come to you.