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How to Develop an Attitude of Gratitude in Life
Gratitude, thankfulness, or gratefulness, from the Latin word gratus (pleasing, thankful), is a feeling of appreciation felt by and/or similar positive response shown by the recipient of kindness, gifts, help, favors, or other types of generosity, towards the giver of such gifts.
Wikipedia
Gratitude is the attitude of being thankful and appreciative for everything.
There’s no happier person than a truly thankful, content person
Joyce Meyer
Benefits of gratitude
There are many benefits of gratitude. Here are a few of them:
- Grateful people enjoy better physical health.
- They have good mental health.
- They are generally happy people.
- Their company is preferred because of their positive approach.
- They do very well in life.
Now that we have seen some major benefits of the attitude of gratitude, let us know how to practically develop this attitude.
Here are 10 ways to develop an attitude of gratitude in your life.
1. Count your blessings
To develop an attitude of gratitude, one of the first things you will have to learn is to count your blessings.
One famous song goes as follows:
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done,
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.
It is helpful to know how much you have been blessed.
2. Look at what you have not what you don’t have
One of the reasons why people find it difficult to develop an 
They don't consider the fact that they already have so many things to be thankful for.
If you take a look at what you have, it will bring a sense of gratefulness to your life.
3. Look at people who don’t have as much as you do
One person was very critical of everything in life but he had one experience that changed his perspective totally.
As usual, he was complaining that he did not have new shoes.
He was whining for a long time about it.
Then he saw a man who had no legs and suddenly he was thankful that at least he had legs.
whenever you feel like complaining, look at the less fortunate ones.
4. Realize that gratitude is not based on your possessions
People need to know that their happiness or gratitude is not based on how many material goods they possess.
There are people who have all the things in the world but are still thankless.
Then again there are poor people who are so thankful always.
Gratitude is a quality of the heart.
It has to be developed by practicing it daily.
5. Learn to say “Thank you” often
One of the easiest way to develop the habit of gratefulness is to say " Thank you" as often as you can.
It is not a matter of developing good manners, though that is commendable.
Saying thank you often will make your heart more thankful and grateful.
Thank the loved ones in your life - family, friends, colleagues, and others.
Even thank strangers at times. You have nothing to lose.
On the contrary, you will gain more friends.
6. Guard your heart against greediness
It may surprise you but at the root of ungratefulness is greediness.
The lust to acquire things by hook or by crook breeds ungratefulness.
The attitude of many people today is " Get all that you can, and can all that you get"
If you have some measure of greed in you, get rid of it and you will start being grateful.
Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul
Henry Ward Beecher
7. Celebrate the gift of life
The celebration of life results in increased gratefulness and thankfulness.
Celebrate the beauty of nature- the majestic mountains, the beautiful trees, flowers, animals, forests, oceans, and everything in nature.
Be thankful for the gift of life and gratefulness will start pouring out of you constantly.
Enjoy the life that you have been gifted. Make the best out of it.
“God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one of them to say thank you?”
William Arthur Ward
8. Maintain a gratitude journal
It is a good habit to have a journal where you note down all the things that you are grateful for every day.
The documentation of all the things you are thankful for will inculcate an attitude of gratitude in you naturally.
Over time, you won't have to drum up thankfulness, it will flow naturally like water from your innermost being.
9. Avoid gossip at all costs
Gossiping will harm you as well as the person about whom you are gossipping.
It reduces the value and worth of a person.
An attitude of gratitude should foster appreciation about others and not demean them in any way, fashion or form.
Instead of gossip, learn to appreciate everyone you meet and interact with.
10. Volunteer to help the helpless, homeless, aged or differently-abled people
Finally, nothing will develop the attitude of gratitude as quickly as reaching out to the underprivileged and less fortunate ones.
Volunteer to feed the hungry and homeless.
Give your services to the poor and differently-abled people.
Get involved with some non-profit organizations.
Giving to society has a wonderful effect on your life. It results in more gratefulness.
This content is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.
© 2020 Nitin Khaire
