5 Small Ways to Increase Your Gratitude

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According to Forbes, research shows that gratitude can improve your physical and psychological health, help you sleep better, enhance empathy and reduce aggression, and improves self-esteem.

Earlier this year, I listened to the audiobook, Gratitude Daily: 21 Days to More Joy and Less Stress by Nataly Kogan. I loved some of her ideas for increasing your gratitude, and wanted to share my top five favorite ways to be more grateful so you can reap the benefits!

Thank Tech/Account Support

Usually when you are calling your insurance, bank, or the manufacturer of a major appliance that broke, you aren’t thinking of being grateful. You’re mostly annoyed that you have to dispute a claim, withdraw funds, or have something fixed. However, the person on the other line is doing their best to help you. So before you hang up, even if the call wasn’t that helpful, say “Thank you for talking with me today.”

Send a Thankful Email

My husband and I tried this out for a week, where each day we sent a thankful email to someone. We would keep each other accountable by texting, “Who did you thank today?” at lunchtime.

Thank a Cashier

When you’re checking out of the store, often you want to get out as quickly as possible. Whether it’s an Aldi employee whizzing the products past the register, an employee from another store who’s struggling to scan the barcode, or the people loading your online order pickup, thank them for helping you.

Thank Yourself

Moms don’t get a lot of praise or gratitude from their kids, so you can try to make up for that by thanking yourself. This sounds silly, but congratulating yourself on making dinner, doing a load of laundry, or driving your kid to soccer practice can really help your mood.

Make It a Family Effort

At the end of the day, have each family member share one thing they are thankful for. We do this every night as a family and then we include that list of thankfuls in our family prayer.

What do you do to increase your gratitude?

 

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