8 Simple Ways to Sneak Gratitude Into Your Days – Inspirational Reads Chapter 8

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Gratitude. We all know what it is, but why is it that so many of us, myself included, stink at it? There are so many reasons that we need gratitude in our lives, but I think one of the primary reasons we need gratitude is so that we can all be a little less about self and a little bit more about others.

Gratitude forces us to think about someone other than ourselves, and gratitude is what can bring us back from the brink of despair.

So if we’ve established the importance of gratitude, how is it that we can get a bit more of it?

Intention.

That’s how we can get a bit more of it. Intention is how we can get a bit more gratitude.

Are you at a place in life that gratitude seems impossible? Are you walking through a valley of burning coals and unable to see anything but the smoke of hardship?

If so, would it help you to know that I’ve been there too? If you are between a rock and a hard place with no way out as far as you can see, I’ve been there.

And, it is because I have been there that I can say with authority that gratitude is the answer.

But, I can make it easier for you than you might think to get a little gratitude in your life.

In fact, I can give you eight easy ways to bring gratitude to your days.

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1. Gratitude jar

It doesn’t necessarily have to be a jar, but establish a place for your family to keep little pieces of paper with something they are thankful for scribbled on it. A jar, a box, a bag, or even a shadow box hung on the wall, they will all do. Then, cut up some nice looking small squares of paper to keep near your jar. A great way to get them filled out is to have everyone write one thing down on a piece of paper while sitting at the table for a meal. Everyone sharing and writing their thankfulness idea is their ticket to eat that meal.

2. Frame it

Find your favorite Bible verse or two gratitude, write or print them off, and then frame them to hang in a prominent place in your home. Hang this verse or verses someplace where everyone will see them and be reminded to focus on gratitude.

3. Turn it around

Each time you say something negative out loud, name three things that you are thankful for out loud. Yes, that is three things to be thankful for in exchange for every negative statement you make. If you are anything like me, you will need to come up with a lot of things to be thankful for in the beginning. Over time, it is amazing how easy it is to become more mindful of not speaking negatively. Negative speaking is kind of like a reflex for most of us. Through wanting to be more grateful, you can also become less negative through this exercise. After all, aren’t those both good things?

4. Let go of a bad habit

Do you have a bad habit? Similar to the above example, you can also get rid of a bad habit while establishing a spirit of gratitude. For example, in my case, I have a natural habit of being sarcastic, which is almost always not a good thing. My sarcasm is a habit that is usually a bad one so in this case, when I use sarcasm, I have to turn that around and speak of something I am thankful for. This is another easy way to get a bit more gratitude in your life and let go of something toxic.

5. Donate to someone with a story

Donating as a family is always a good thing, but donating to someone with a story really drives home a spirit of gratitude. When you donate to someone in poverty through an organization you usually get a story about the person you are supporting. When you donate to St. Jude’s Hospital, you get a story about a new child struggling with cancer every month. Donating to someone with a story and then reading that story and talking about that person regularly makes it easy to be thankful for the things we have.

6. Give up something you love

It can be something small, but this is kind of like giving up something for lent or fasting. The idea behind these things is sacrificing something that is a regular part of your life so that you can focus on something in your spiritual life. For our purposes, give up something you love so that when you crave it, when you are missing that thing, or when you are inconvenienced without that thing in your life you can choose to be grateful during those times. Giving up something you love and something that you will miss is an easy way to be thankful.

7. Read a book

There are so many books out there that share stories of those who sacrifice, even those who have made great sacrifices for us that make it easy for us to be thankful. Biographies are often great for this and there are so many to choose from. This particular book is our favorite, and there are so many people and their stories shared that it is an amazing resource all in one. Knowing of those who have made enormous sacrifices for us leaves us unable to be anything but grateful.

8. Wear a reminder

Purchase a cute bracelet from a ministry store that can serve as a reminder for you to be grateful every time you look at it. We have a few stores in our area that are affiliated with various missions and organizations where they have handmade items from people in third world countries. There are also great ways to support similar ministries and missions online in the same way. Get something simple. You will be supporting a great cause, but you will be changing yourself for the better as well.

Gratitude is such an important thing, but it is also something that we need to be intentional about getting into our hearts and lives. These are some really great ways to sneak some of that gratitude in.

 

This post is reflection of the book we are reading as a book club community. This is the book we are reading.

Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World

Here is a bit more about our book club…

This book club is a way of encouraging others to carve out the time to read at a pace of just two chapters a week because I’ve learned that finding time to read never just happens on its own.

Generally, every Monday and Thursday there will be blog posts here with Monday’s Inspirational Reads somewhere in the title with my reaction to each of the two chapters for the week.