The How-To’s of Daily Gratitude

Who achieves Gratitude, reaps rewards.  Satisfied with blessings, the grateful are predisposed to joy, and direct less resource or effort in upkeep.

While interdependence customarily necessitates reciprocity, Gratitude is very much a personal choice.  

The How-To’s of Gratitude

A list of clarifications is compiled below. 

Misconception 1: I have No reason to be Grateful

Actual: There are great much we take for granted: many already won the lottery!  Food, water, shelter etc and the chance to grow.  We can be mostly happy if we count our blessings.  Surplus, improving and giving back are bonuses!  

Other reasons for Gratitude are practical.  The grateful spend and risk less for the same level of bliss.  They have daily sources of happiness, and are able to focus on the important.

Misconception 2. Boredom – Grateful people lead boring monotonous lives

Actual: Gratitude endows a zest for life.  Grateful people appreciate the great beauty and opportunity present that others are too busy, fearful, anxious, angry or sad to notice.  Life is ever-changing and brings new beauty and lessons every day.  New friends, old friends, changing seasons, bustle or quiet, daily encounters with nature, a myriad of constant change.

Essentially, grateful people are more appreciative, and the beauty that they experience is within easy reach.

Misconception 3.  Gratitude is a Feeling –  Either, I feel it or I do not.

Actual:  Granted, Gratitude is a feeling, but daily Gratitude is not just the “tactless” extension of the emotional.  Like a baby learning to walk, we need to develop a degree of understanding, “strength and dexterity” to unlock daily Gratitude.

Understanding. A deeper understanding (of things we take for granted brings greater appreciation.  A deeper understanding of how Gratitude works helps maintain gratefulness, and avoids excessive negative emotions that overwhelm reasonable Gratitude and happiness.

Strength and Dexterity. Practice makes perfect.  The longer we stay grateful, the easier daily Gratitude will be.

Some actions we can take:

a. Taking time to appreciate our blessings is a way to help us enjoy and engage with the beautiful and important.  Spending and appreciating happy time with family, friends and things we love etc. Writing and re-reading Gratitude journals can also help some remind  themselves of the beautiful and important..

b. Ignoring or isolating the irrelevant (the unpleasant but transient; excessive wants) keeps the irrelevant fleeting.

c. Humour, learning from the experiences of others, finding inspiration, avoiding (emotional) situations like being tired and late in the morning due to late nights etc are just some of a multitude of ways to help keep us sane enough to smell the flowers along the way.

Thanks for reading and/or sharing your views.

P.S.: Above post edited for clarity.

Claims and clarifications 4 & 5 in a future post –

Misconception 4. Gratitude and basic contentment means grateful people do not work for improvements, and are deaf to problems.

Misconception 5. With Gratitude, I will never feel negative, anxious, sad and have no wants.

Image Credits: Gustavo Devito, Diego Torres, Camdiluv,