
You’ve heard about the benefits of practicing gratitude. Your friends are doing it. The celebs are all over it.
But what precisely does practicing gratitude look like?
How could it be easy and fun?
How to easily cultivate more gratitude (20 ideas)
Before eating dinner with my family, take turns sharing aloud what we’re grateful for from the day
Pick any object I see and mentally name 3 things I can find to love about it
Find a reason to thank someone
Mentally thank the inanimate objects around me as I use them (socks I put away in the drawer, dental floss, chef’s knife)
Make eye contact when I thank the grocery clerk or barista
Find a quote about gratitude that I like and record it in the front of this book
When something lousy happens, consider the opposite: How is this wonderful?
Remember that I could, at any time, lose the person, animal, situation, identity, or thing that I love
Pick a specific joyful memory and write about it in detail
Give a card to someone who makes a difference in your life: a friend, relative, coworker, service provider
Notice 3 ways I’ve grown in the last decade
In the next email I write, include a genuine compliment or note of appreciation toward the recipient
When I’m feeling an unpleasant emotion, mentally thank the sensation for existing and for communicating with me
Stand naked in front of the bathroom mirror, admire my miraculous body, and thank it for everything it’s given me
Find a beautiful journal in which to keep gratitude notes
Consider the life area in which I’m the most dissatisfied (work, romance, health…) and write 10+ reasons I’m genuinely grateful for my current situation in that life area
Think of something I’m grateful for while brushing my teeth
Create a visual representation of what I most appreciate (draw, collage, dedicate a shelf to photos and keepsakes that make me feel grateful)
Buy a small thank-you gift for someone
Contemplate some of the “worst” things that have happened to me and notice how I’ve learned, grown, and benefited from those experiences
What else?