Gratitude practice FAQs
How do you actually express gratitude in your life? What do you actually say??
Welcome to the third and final part in my gratitude series...
So by now you have probably taken the time to reflect on your life (Gratitude Series - Part I) and you have learnt about the different ways you could start practicing gratitude (Gratitude Series - Part II). If not, click the links and read these posts before you get started on this one…
Despite all this. you may still feel a bit stuck. Again this was something I struggled with at the start. I had so many questions. Like what do I actually say during my gratitude practice? How many things should I be grateful for each day? How much time should I spend doing this? The truth is that it all depends but I’m going to tackle some of these questions now…
1. How many things should I be grateful for each day?
This is totally up to you. For example you could try to be thankful for one thing in each area of your life (love, health, wealth, career, spirit), so 6 things in total. Or you could just find one thing to be grateful for each day. I try to go somewhere in between and aim for saying 3 things I am grateful for each day. Find what works for you - it’s better to just express your gratitude for one thing each day than to do 6 things on one day and then nothing for the rest of the week!
2. How long should I spend practicing gratitude?
It’s totally up to you but any time is better than no time. I would say 5 minutes a day is great. That is just 0.3% of your day (a tiny amount!). If you feel you can spend longer then go for it, however the important thing is that you feel genuine about it and you are not doing it with no feelings or emotions.
3. Do I have to do it every day for it to work?
Not necessarily but like with any habit (like brushing your teeth!) doing it daily will make a great difference. Try your best to do it daily, but definitely do not beat yourself up if you miss a day or forget, or feel too tired. You have to be kind to yourself otherwise you are defeating the object of trying to achieve great things.
4. What do I actually need to say during my gratitude practice?
Different things work for different people here… Here are some options of how you can express your gratitude...
‘I am grateful for…’
‘Thank you universe for…’
Thank you, thank you, thank you for…’
‘Today I am so grateful for…’
‘I am thankful for…’
5. What kind of things can I say I am grateful for? I feel like I run out of things!
Again this is one that it is easy to get stuck on. Some days you may feel like you could write a list that would go on forever, and other days you may struggle to find just one thing you are grateful for. I know I feel like this sometimes. Here are some things you could be grateful for…
The sunshine
Your pet
A yummy meal
Your bank balance
Your home
Your best friend
Your partner
...And if you want to go a step further you can be even more specific, for example
‘I am so grateful today for the great chat and laughs I had on the phone with my best friend’
‘I am thankful for the beautiful dog walk I went on today and all the gorgeous nature we experienced’
‘Thank you universe for the £100,000 pay cheque I received into my bank account’
So I hope this enlightens you with respect to getting into your daily gratitude practice. The one key note of warning here is that you have to genuinely believe it. It is oh so easy to say I am grateful for my health, but you may not actually really feel it deep down (eg if you’ve skipped your exercise for the last month!). Don’t fool yourself, be genuine and be specific. You are better off saying it am grateful for.
Jennie, With Love xx
