How to Practice Gratitude Everyday for Self-Care

Infuse your life with joy and happiness by creating a practice of gratitude

One of the biggest (and most unexpected) takeaways I’ve discovered while digging into my personal self-care practice is the power found in the act of gratitude. It’s incredible how impactful a simple shift in perspective can be, that’s why taking a step back and appreciating what we already have is such a powerful way to practice self-care.

Creating a self-care practice can feel overwhelming at times, especially if you’re focused on external forces providing the rituals and routines for you like manicures, massages, pedicures, etc.

When that’s the case, it’s easy to feel like you don’t have enough time or money to take care of yourself, but with the practice of gratitude, you’ll find that with being grateful, you don’t need anything extra.

The importance of gratitude for self-care

So many of us are caught up in the race of the next-best-thing and often forget to look around and count everything that we do have. Right here. Right at this very moment. Things that aren’t expensive or require anything extra on our end, just a bit of acknowledgment.

It’s easy for me to recognize this scarcity-driven behavior from a mile away because I was that woman not too long ago. The one who never had enough, because deep down, I didn’t feel like I was enough. I was continually searching for self-love in ice cream pints and designer bags (I mean, I still love me some designer bags…). Ultimately, I ended up feeling more frantic and anxious than ever.

Once I started implementing self-care into my life and began to focus on consciously raising my vibration, I felt a shift of immense gratitude for everything in my life.

Before, I would be so hyper-aware of the image I was giving off to others, and it left me in this state of not enough. Now, I genuinely feel a greater sense of thankfulness and gratefulness every day. I’ve also learned not to give a flying you-know-what when it comes to what other people think.

It’s incredible how quickly the universe can work when you do the following:

1. Acknowledge your desires
2. Make yourself and your happiness a priority every day
3. Believe that you are worthy like truly believe it
4. Tune in and be grateful for what you already have – no matter how big or small
5. Feel profound gratitude for the smallest things that you usually take for granted
6. Tell the Universe thank you for those small gifts and kindly ask for more, please
7. Patiently wait for ‘more’ and practice gratitude along the way

Since I’ve started to care more deeply for myself and prioritize my needs, I’ve attracted more than I ever could have imagined.

With that, I’ve felt an overwhelming and dropping-to-my-knees sense of gratitude that can stop me in my tracks and move me to tears. I’m not just talking about money, I’m talking about the relationships that have blossomed and deepened, opportunities that have landed in my lap, and the incredible support I continue to receive daily.

On top of it all, I have been consciously focusing my attention on changing my mindset – continually reminding myself to find gratitude in every moment, no matter how shitty or “not to plan” that moment might feel.

If you’re ready to tune-up your daily gratitude practice, check out some easy suggestions on getting started below.

How to practice gratitude daily

• Look for moments of gratitude throughout your entire day, no matter how seemingly normal your day feels
• Seek the lesson or gift in situations that have gone awry or not according to plan
• Give at least one genuine compliment
• Say thank you and make eye contact while saying it
• If you immediately identify something or someone as negative, train your brain to look for a positive instead
• Start a gratitude journal and begin and end your day writing down five things you’re grateful for

Look for the small moments

Sometimes, our days can feel so jam-packed or so boring and routine. I promise you; there are a million little reasons to be grateful just hiding and waiting for an acknowledgment.

Something easy that I’ve been doing is to think about what I’m grateful for while going to the bathroom. I know, it sounds so crazy, but this daily act is now a reminder to stop and remember all that I am grateful for that day. Also, no matter how fabulous or terrible your day is going, you’re always going to go to the bathroom…

Seek the lesson

When shit hits the fan and goes the opposite direction as planned, it’s just an invitation to find the lesson or the silver lining within. When we take the time to acknowledge the positive we’re taking away from a seemingly bad situation, the whole thing takes a positive turn and leaves us feeling not so terrible about whatever just happened. Try it!

Compliment genuinely

Take a few moments out of your day and pay someone a sincere compliment. I love this method because it works in two ways:

1. You never know how your compliment could turn around someone’s day and
2. a moment of gratitude is created when you take a moment to acknowledge what you appreciate about someone

Give your thanks

Whether someone holds the door for you or refills your water, look them in the eye and give them a heartfelt thank you. Much like complimenting, this act shifts moments to be grateful for into focus and allows us to see all the positivity and love that’s surrounding us.

Train your brain

This tip is a personal favorite practice of mine because it has personally helped me shift out of lower vibration thinking and combine gratitude and mindfulness into one. The moment you find yourself thinking a negative thought (ugh, I can’t believe there’s a detour on my way home) reframe it to become a positive thought (I’m excited to take a new way home, I can’t wait to see what I might find! or at least I get to listen to my favorite song a few more times!)

Write it out

Book-ending your day with writing in a gratitude journal (I love this one!) is an easy way to ground yourself and remember all that there truly is to be grateful for. I like to ask myself, “what am I grateful for right now?” and write down the first five things that come to mind without judgment.

What are you currently grateful for?

Comment below and tell me what you feel grateful for right now. I’d love to hear from you!

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