It’s November, so giving thanks is probably higher on your mind as we enter the holiday season. But, gratitude doesn’t have to be something seasonal that gets brought out with the good china then tucked back away until next year. By cultivating a gratitude mindset through a daily gratitude practice, you’ll find that the benefits are infinite.

Gratitude Basics

• People who regularly practice gratitude are more positive, appreciative, creative, and happier.

• People with a gratitude mindset focus on the limitless opportunities available to them in their lives and businesses because they choose not to focus on negative things.

• People who are grateful for what they have attract greater opportunities in their lives.

To put it another way, being grateful narrows your focus to only what matters but expands your appreciation for what you have in your life.

8 Benefits of Gratitude Practice

While the benefits of a regular gratitude practice are infinite, here are 8 groupings of benefits that you can expect to experience in your life as your gratitude practice works to shift your mindset in incredible ways.

• Amplifies positive emotions and frees you from negative emotions, making you happier

• Increases loving thoughts

• Builds confidence

• Helps you stay present with the people who matter most, building stronger relationships

• Enhances your experiences

• Supports you during adversity and setbacks

• Improves your mental and physical health, with lasting positive effects on the brain

• Makes you more compassionate, empathetic, and helpful

You may be thinking that with so many benefits, the practice must be complicated or tough to master. And you’d be wrong. If you commit to as few as 5 minutes each day devoted to this practice, you’ll find that after a week, you’ll start noticing the benefits, which will keep you coming back for more.

5 Ways to Develop a Gratitude Practice

So, you want to cultivate an attitude of gratitude? Here are five ways to develop a gratitude practice that will shift your mindset and free up your thinking to make your life happier, more fulfilling, and enable you to achieve your biggest life and business goals.

1. Measure

Appreciate how far you’ve come. Look back often to remind yourself of each step, ounce of improvement, and achievement along the way. This helps you build confidence, motivation, and momentum instead of fixating on how far there is left to go.

2. Reflect and Choose

Build the habit of reflecting on your day and writing down a few things that you are grateful for, even when you’ve had a bad day. After a few days, you’ll find that it becomes easier and ensures that active gratitude becomes central to every day. Using a journal, notebook, or even post-it notes is very helpful for this practice.

3. Mindful Gratitude

Starting each interaction throughout our days with a gratitude mindset can make you feel more positive. Even meetings can become more productive and energized. To do this, pause for a moment during each transition to list a couple of things you appreciate about the situation or the person before diving right in. Your transition trigger could be entering a new room, sitting in a chair, or even picking up your phone. When the trigger event happens, pause for a few seconds and focus on what you’re grateful for, and experience the difference in how the following meeting leaves you feeling.

4. Express It

Don’t keep gratitude to yourself. Express it and let it amplify your appreciation for others. If you choose to focus on, and appreciate, the people that matter most to you their value grows.  They will feel more positive emotions towards you and build stronger relationships with you. Share your gratitude through personalized notes, phone calls, and online business reviews. Read our giant ‘thank you’ to coworkers who’ve made working so much better!

5. Be Intentional

Intentional gratitude is about choosing to express gratitude and appreciating the things you have and the people that matter most. When you consciously choose to do something because you want to do it, your gratitude becomes more powerful, and the effect on others multiplies. This will leave you feeling more excited, happy, and motivated.

Challenge

We encourage you to use this season of thanksgiving to start building a gratitude practice that can last year-round and has the ability to transform your outlook in incredibly positive ways.