5 Ways to Cultivate Gratitude

Gratitude journals and other practices have been big topics over the last decade. Just a quick Google search shows the science of the benefits of a gratitude practice. Scientific research on the results of a gratitude practice showed better sleep, lower stress levels, improved interpersonal relationships, and even healthier eating. 

As a stay at home mom I have an immense amount to be grateful for. However, it is so easy for me to focus on the negative or the things that need to improve in my life, my home, my community. I know I need to grow in gratitude, but how? How can I remember to wake up each morning in a thankful state?

You can always keep a journal close to you. You can use an app. I need a little something different to spice up my gratitude practice for my rebel personality. Here are

5 fun ways to grow in gratitude:

1. Take a picture a day. Challenge yourself to take a picture a day for a month of something you are grateful for. Then, at the end of the month you could create a collage or a slideshow or even a note on your phone. Write on the picture expressing your gratitude or even do a voice recording on the picture. Then, after the month is over you can look back and see tangibly how much you really have. You can also do this challenge on your social media. Post a picture a day and write a caption about the challenge and why you are grateful for that picture. 
2. Use an object. This one could be done more sporadically if you don’t have enough space to keep 30ish objects on your counter. Maybe once or twice a week take an object home with you and then you can reflect your gratitude for this object. Maybe it is a coffee sleeve from the coffee you drank while you studied or met with a friend. Maybe it is a rock or something in nature from a walk or time outside. Be creative! This could turn into a fun show and tell for your family. 
3. Wake up to a song. This is a fun one but make sure to choose a fun song that really gets you out of bed in the morning happy and focusing on the good. I have a few Rend Collective songs that I love for this. 
4. Write it on your wall. But put a piece of paper there first! We just completed this challenge in our family and it was so fun for us. It depend our relationships and focused us more on the good of every day. 
5. Serve others. Write a tiny note of encouragement or have bags in your car to give to homeless people. Take your kids to the old folks home. Help them learn about other people who do not have the same blessings as you or who have had tragic things happen in their lives. This is such a fun way to grow in gratitude because after you are done you can write about it and then reflect on the gratitude for things in your own life. I especially like taking our Instax camera along with us so we can reflect, remember, and pray for the people in the picture. My kids have started to really love this aspect of our family. 

Do you want to grow in gratitude? Join the 10 day challenge here, to have some accountability, get new ideas, and to have fun growing in gratitude. 

Are you wanting to get your kids involved in growing in gratitude? We took the ten day challenge as a family and it changed a lot of things for us. We also now have a section of our dining room dedicated to gratitude. You can check that out here. 

You can grow your family’s gratitude practice for free and I encourage you to do that. However, if you want to purchase our gratitude wall products you can do that here.  

Leave a comment if you have noticed the benefits of a gratitude practice.