Gratitude Affirmations and the Benefits of Daily Gratitude Practice

gratitude changes everything

Practicing gratitude is a powerful tool that can help improve many areas in your life. From strengthening relationships with others to building self-love, gratitude can transform your life. Whether you prefer to write in a gratitude journal or share your affirmations with others, you will quickly notice the benefits of practicing daily gratitude affirmations.

Common benefits of daily gratitude practice:

    1. Attracts More Positive Emotions

      Daily gratitude affirmations help us focus on the good. Too often, we dwell on negative emotions and the bad parts of our day. We focus on what we don’t have, what we wish was better, what we can’t do. We forget about how wonderful life is! When we practice gratitude affirmations, we think about things we already have and are grateful for. It’s so easy to forget about the little things that make life positive, and gratitude affirmations remind us of them. This leaves us feeling more optimistic about the future, happier, and more confident. Practicing gratitude should never feel forced or ingenuine— it’s not about ignoring the negative emotions and pretending bad situations don’t happen. Instead, it’s about accepting the negatives and searching for the positives.

    2. Improves Relationships

      Expressing emotions and thoughts is no easy task, but being too closed off can affect your relationships with loved ones. Practicing gratitude affirmations with your friends and family can help you open up and better communicate about the things you love about them. This activity helps strengthen relationships and shows people what you value about them. Everybody enjoys feeling appreciated! If you don’t feel comfortable, you don’t need to share your exact affirmations with anybody. Simply thinking about the people you’re grateful for and why can help you feel more trusting and positive towards them. Gratitude also improves self-esteem, which helps eliminate jealousy or negative feelings towards others. Instead of constantly comparing yourself to your friends and colleagues, gratitude shows you how to be happy for them without taking away from your own accomplishments.

    3. Reduces Stress and Anxiety

      Anxiety is often a result of uneasy feelings or uncertainty about the future. Daily gratitude affirmations shift our focus away from the future or past and towards the present. When we focus on the present moment, many of those anxieties and feelings of stress diminish. This shift in mindset helps calm us down, which can actually improve focus and mental clarity. By practicing daily gratitude, you might notice that your workload becomes easier to manage! However, stressors and sources of anxiety are not always as easily solved as finishing your to-do list. Gratitude also teaches us to let go of any worries that we cannot control. It makes you more resilient to stress, so you can better handle difficult situations that come your way.

    4. Alleviates Symptoms of Depression

      There are many different reasons for feeling depressed, and the extent varies from person to person. Whether it’s a past event or current situation, there might be something in your life that you feel unsatisfied with or hurt about. Practicing daily gratitude can help you focus on positive emotions instead of fixating on what is lacking. We’re not saying that writing in a gratitude journal will cure your depression, but a shift in mindset can help. Think of gratitude practice as a tool in your toolbox rather than a cure.

    5. Improves Physical Health

      We all know that stress isn’t good for us, but at times it can feel unavoidable. From work deadlines and never-ending to-do lists to personal and relationship problems, stress is a feeling we all know too well. Unfortunately, chronic stress can lead to serious health issues, such as heart disease, diabetes, and mental health problems. Practicing daily gratitude affirmations can help improve physical health, not just mental. The two are deeply connected. By reducing stress and feeling more positive and grateful, we feel more encouraged to improve our overall wellbeing. Studies show that individuals who practice gratitude daily tend to exercise more, build a solid social circle, and eat healthy foods.

    6. Strengthens the Immune System

      Among many other health benefits, practicing gratitude helps strengthen the immune system. After the past few years we’ve experienced, we could all use a boost in immunity! The immune-boosting powers of daily gratitude affirmations are indirect— it is the result of many factors, such as decreased stress, healthier lifestyle habits, and better sleep. Lowering stress levels and getting better-quality sleep reduces inflammation and helps regulate the immune system.

    7. Increases Self-Esteem

      In a world where we’re constantly comparing ourselves to others both online and offline, self-esteem suffers. Writing gratitude affirmations about yourself serves as an important reminder of all the things you appreciate in your own life. Reflect on all of the things you’ve accomplished, your favorite personality traits, what you love about yourself, and the things in your life that make you happy. It might feel strange at first, but you will notice a tremendous improvement in self-love and self-esteem with a bit of practice. You will begin to appreciate yourself instead of comparing. Gratitude also gives us more confidence about the future because it increases feelings of optimism.

    8. Better Sleep

      We could all use some more sleep— whether you have a busy schedule keeping you up or insomnia got the best of you, not getting enough sleep is detrimental to mood and physical health. If you have bad quality sleep or don’t sleep enough, try practicing gratitude affirmations before bed. Reflect on the day you had and write down a few things that you are grateful for. What was something good that happened? What made you happy today? This practice reduces stress, which is one of the biggest culprits of trouble sleeping and insomnia. By putting aside the negative emotions and thoughts and focusing on gratitude, studies have shown that participants fall asleep easier and have a more restful sleep. Participants in these studies also woke up feeling more energized and well-rested.

Gratitude is a powerful emotion that brings optimism and happiness into our lives. It is a feeling of appreciation for what we already have. People often search for happiness, thinking they need to achieve something or fill a void to finally feel happy. However, happiness is not something we should chase— it should come from within, and that begins with gratitude. In order to be happy, we must first be grateful for what we have. But where do we start? How can one become grateful? Expressing gratitude is a practice that is most effective when done daily. There are many ways to express gratitude, but the easiest way to start is with gratitude affirmations.

What are gratitude affirmations?

Gratitude affirmations are positive statements about the things that you are grateful for. These statements should always be written (or spoken) in the present tense, and they should be centered around you. Gratitude affirmations can be a way to attract things into your life or remind yourself of the wonderful things you already have. When we speak or think positive thoughts, we have the power to bring them into existence. If we constantly think negatively, we shift our focus toward the negatives in life, and eventually, we attract more of it. Likewise, if we think positively and speak our affirmations into existence, we attract more abundance, love, joy, and gratitude. The first few times you try this, it might feel unnatural. You may not even “feel” the gratitude you are speaking about —that is why daily practice is so effective and important. The more you practice gratitude, the more you will start to believe the words that you speak. As you get more comfortable, focus on the feelings associated with each affirmation that you create. Find the emotions attached to them— feel that joy, optimism, or hope within. Sometimes it helps to visualize this feeling as a light coming from your heart.

If you need some help getting started, here are a few examples of gratitude affirmations that you can incorporate into your practice. Remember, your affirmations should be personal, so you can always add to these or customize them to help yourself better connect with the feeling of gratitude.

    1. I am grateful for the endless opportunities that I am presented with, which lead me to success, abundance, and fulfillment.
    2. I am grateful and deserving of the love and support I receive from my friends and family.
    3. I am grateful for all of my successes and failures, as I trust that they will lead me to the path I am meant to take.
    4. I am grateful for my body that allows me to experience life, travel, work on my passions, and dance with my friends.
    5. I am grateful for all the everyday luxuries that I often overlook, such as clean, running water, a safe and warm home, and nourishing food to eat.
    6. I am grateful that I can connect with nature every day; I cherish that time spent outdoors in the fresh air.
    7. I am grateful for my loving heart that can open up to others and love so deeply.

Source: pantryfoodco.com ~ Image: Canva Pro

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