When facing difficulties, we easily let gratitude slip away, replaced by frustration, anger, and complaints. We all do this from time to time. Instead, we should flip the script and look at challenges as opportunities to show gratitude
The Bible emphasizes the importance of having gratitude and being thankful. Colossians 2:7 says, "Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness." If we build our lives on God and stay close to him, it will help us remember to be thankful for all he has done for us.
I’ve also noticed a connection between gratitude and success. I’m not saying that if you have a thankful heart you will always be successful per the world's definition. Sucess depends on you honoring God’s plan for your life. However, I have noticed that a lot of successful people, both secular and Christian, have an attitude of gratitude and seem to keep having success. My point is, it’s important to have an attitude of gratitude no matter what we are going through, good and bad, and to remember that God is with us through it all.
If you struggle with thankfulness and gratitude, don’t feel bad. When we are in really hard places, sometimes all we can see is what’s going wrong. Even if you start with a mustard seed of gratitude, God will grow that seed.
Here are some ways to foster a grateful heart daily:
The Science Behind Gratitude: Benefits for the Mind and Body
Let’s start with understanding why gratitude matters. When we have a grateful heart, it helps improve our sleep and happiness, reduces stress, and promotes heart health. It also improves our relationships with others and our relationship with God.
Daily Journaling: A Simple Practice to Document Thankfulness
One simple way to have a more grateful heart is to start a gratitude journal. To help make this intentional, buy a beautiful journal to write in. Every night before you go to bed, write 3-5 things that you are thankful for that day. It can be something as simple as a coworker bringing cookies to work or as big as a new promotion. It doesn’t matter; be grateful for all things big and small.
Another idea is to write those 3-5 things on separate strips of paper and add them to a jar. Then, on New Year’s Eve, open it and look back on all the things you’ve been grateful for that year. It doesn’t matter when you start, either. It could be three months, six months, or nine months of what you are thankful for, as long as you start.
Mindfulness and Gratitude: Connecting with the Present Moment
Mindfulness means the practice of being in the moment. This is hard for most of us because we are always thinking about what’s ahead. When we do this, we aren’t able to stay present. When we stay present, we are happier, calmer, more relaxed, and more grateful.
In contrast, when we think about the future, especially something exciting like a vacation or a wedding, we focus too much on the big event and don’t enjoy the planning. We should enjoy every part from planning to traveling to getting to our destination to the big event.
Instead, practice being in the moment and enjoying what’s around you. A simple way to do this is to leave five minutes earlier than you normally would. When you get outside your door, pause and take in what’s around you. The sunshine, the smell of freshly mowed grass, the flowers in your flower beds, saying hello to a neighbor, etc. These things are so simple yet so easily taken for granted in our rush towards the future. This shows that it really is important to slow down and smell the roses.
Expressing Gratitude: The Power of Saying Thank You
Our parents taught most of us to say "please" and "thank you" while growing up. Being polite sounds simple, but it has many powerful benefits.
Being thankful enhances our well-being, improves our mood, and decreases symptoms of anxiety and depression. It increases optimism, improves our cognitive processing, lowers blood pressure, and improves our immune system and sleep.
Saying thank you decreases negative thinking, helps us to be thankful for what we have, helps us focus less on possessions and more on experiences and connections, improves creativity, strengthens social bonds, and increases our empathy and patience.
Gratitude Rituals: Creating Meaningful Daily Habits
Start creating some meaningful daily habits to foster a grateful heart:
-Thank God each morning for waking you up.
-Thank your spouse when they do something.
-Thank God for the beauty you see around you. (Birds, trees, flowers, the colors at sunrise, etc.)
-Thank people you see on your daily commute. (Drive-thru workers, baristas, the person in the tollbooth, your child’s teachers, etc.)
-Thank your kids when they do something or when they simply listen to what you tell them to do.
-Thank your coworkers.
-Thank healthy leaders in your life.
-Thank your church community.
Transforming Challenges into Gratitude Opportunities
When facing difficulties, we easily let gratitude slip away, replaced by frustration, anger, and complaints. We all do this from time to time. Instead, we should flip the script and look at challenges as opportunities to show gratitude. There are four steps to doing this:
Step 1: Acknowledge your feelings. There is nothing wrong with (righteously) feeling angry, frustrated, or sad, or grieving a letdown for a short period. Doing this helps you accept reality, have emotional release, and allows you to identify your triggers, which helps you understand yourself better.
Step 2: Reframe your perspective. This means changing your view from negativity to growth-orienting. Find the silver lining. Every situation has one. If you got moved to another department, be thankful you didn’t get fired. Been diagnosed with a health issue? Be glad you know what it is so that you can address it versus not knowing you have it.
Look at the situation with gratitude. Be thankful for supportive friends and family, the opportunity to learn new skills or change to a different career, or even having a few moments of peace if you used to work at a high-stress job.
Think about the lessons you have learned so far and appreciate the lessons you will learn in the future.
Step 3: Remaining resilient through action. We can cultivate resilience through action; it's not just an innate quality. Set achievable goals by breaking immense challenges into smaller steps. With each small win you have, you will build your confidence and reinforce your belief in yourself.
Figure out what coping strategies work for you when you face stress or adversity. This could be prayer, engaging in hobbies, or spending time in nature.
Surround yourself with positive people who will help you and uplift you when you’re down. Having strong connections and openly sharing what you are struggling with can foster an environment where you can flourish. Your friends can provide insight and perspective and, who knows, they may lead you to your next opportunity.
Step 4: Share your journey. Be open about what you’re struggling with and share lessons you’ve learned with other people who are going through the same thing. Encourage others on your mutual journey.
Join an in-person or online group for those who have lost their jobs, are having financial struggles, are having trouble finding a job, etc. There is power in the community. As you talk about your journey, give yourself some time to reflect on what you have learned and the things you are still learning. When you reflect on how far you’ve come, it helps you have more gratitude.
Gratitude in Relationships: Strengthening Connections with Appreciation
Showing gratitude in our relationships helps strengthen bonds, build trust, and deepen our emotional connections. Expressing gratitude shows we care, reciprocates kindness, and makes us feel content.
Using Visual Reminders: Inspiring a Grateful Environment
Create a ‘grateful board’ of things you are grateful for and hang it where you will see it every day. These could be pictures of friends and family, pets, a cup of coffee, a picture of your work environment, a cross representing God, your favorite hobby, etc.
Overcoming Negativity: Transforming Complaints into Gratitude
This can be a hard thing to do, but it is crucial if we want to foster a grateful heart within ourselves. Here are some steps to make this easier:
Step 1: Practice gratitude regularly. Start with something small, like writing in your journal, and then branch out to include other ways of expressing gratitude.
Step 2: Be aware of your mindset. As soon as you think or say something negative, stop and try to flip the script into something more positive. It doesn’t have to be perfect at first. For example, “I’m glad I have x resource to help me with x problem, even though I’m going through x.”
Step 3: Use strategies to build mental toughness and keep emotional fortitude.
Step 4: Read some books. Knowledge is power, after all. Here are some titles to try:
-The Little Book of Gratitude: Create a life of well-being and happiness by giving thanks, by Robert A. Emmons
-Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy, by Nancy DeMoss and Joni Eareckson Tada
-The Grumble-Free Year, by Tricia Goyer
Being grateful is a choice, but if we practice it every day, we will grow in connection with others and with God. And that is something to be grateful for.
Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/natasaadzic
