Living Gratefully: How Daily Practice Can Change Your Life

Understanding Practice

In Thomas M. Sterner’s book Fully Engaged, he made a claim I’ve found to be increasingly true by the day. He states:

“Everything in life comes from practice. No matter how small or inconsequential we think it is, everything we do, from brushing our teeth to getting through a scary job interview, comes from practice, the deliberate repetition of an action with an awareness of what we want to achieve.”

If you think about it—really think about it—you will realize, if you haven’t already, that we are what we practice daily. This is awesome because it means that everything we want to become, we can achieve through practice. This applies to things we consider meaningful as well as those we don’t, and to things we are conscious of as well as those we are unaware of.

I like to think of gratitude as a conscious and meaningful habit that, when practiced over time, becomes a part of us. We become grateful people through practice.

Understanding Gratitude

I am deeply fascinated by everything about gratitude. I love talking about it. I love the simplicity of its practice. I love the way it makes me feel every time I practice it. I love the perspectives and meaning it gives to all the things I get to do. Gratitude has been a game-changer for me, and here’s why.

Benefit Number One: A Better Attitude

Gratitude is the foundation on which I’ve been able to develop the right perspective or attitude to navigate my day successfully. By carving out time to remind myself of the wonderful opportunities each new day presents, I position myself to learn from every experience. With a mind focused on learning and growth, every meaningful experience feels fun, enjoyable, and even pleasurable.

Benefit Number Two: Gratitude Snowballs

God, in His infinite wisdom, found a way to help me truly value my time. Lucky me! Being grateful for each day that I get to live snowballs into me taking positive actions to make the day count.

Being grateful for the people in my life and all they do to make my life happy, fun, and fulfilling snowballs into me deeply appreciating even the little things they do—which makes them want to do more of the good things!

Being grateful for all circumstances—desirable or undesirable—snowballs into me opening myself to learn from each one and becoming better because of them.

Benefit Number Three: Gratitude Keeps Me Balanced

I’ve found that gratitude protects me from spiraling into regret about lost time, opportunities, or relationships. It also prevents me from being a dreamer lost in fantasies of my creation.

I stop myself from worrying about what’s already happened by being grateful for the lessons it taught me and recognizing how my life is better because of those experiences. I focus on what I need to do now and execute it to the best of my abilities, believing that everything I do counts and is moving me closer to where I want and need to be.

With this perspective, gratitude becomes a tool I use to stay balanced: guided by my regrets but firmly rooted in the present, working toward the future I desire.

Here’s something I’ve noticed about myself: I don’t remember a time in my life more satisfying than now. I’m happy every day. I share my thoughts with awesome people every day. I do things that bring me joy and fulfillment. And I feel this way because I make time to focus on what I have and what is within my control.

This, I believe, is the true magnitude of gratitude—it shapes every aspect of your life.

Deliberately Practicing Gratitude

Gratitude is a simple practice. It doesn’t take more than ten minutes of my time. But, like any habit you want to nurture, you must be intentional and deliberate about it. Remember the earlier quote? “Deliberate repetition of an action with an awareness of what we want to achieve” is how we practice anything we want to become. Ultimately, the goal is to make gratitude a regular part of our lives.

In my opinion, to practice gratitude deliberately, we only need to consider two things: how and when.

How: How do you want to practice? Any medium is fine, but I prefer a journal I can feel and write in. Some people say a prayer of gratitude as soon as they plant their feet on the floor in the morning. I’ve found that works amazingly well too. Choose any medium that works for you, and if it doesn’t work, change it. Experiment until you find what suits you.

When: The specific time you set for practicing gratitude is critical. I believe the best thing you can do for any goal is to set aside a specific time for taking the actions necessary to achieve it. More importantly, when it’s time to practice, make sure you actually do it.

Gratitude is a practice that works only if you do the work consistently.

Set a particular time for practicing gratitude. I prefer early mornings because it sets the tone for a great day. Maybe that’ll work for you; maybe not. Try it and see. If it works, run with it. If it doesn’t, try something else until you find what does.

Alright, that’s it from me. If I’ve sold you on the idea of practicing gratitude consistently and with intention, I truly hope you give this incredibly simple but powerful habit a go. It changed my life for the better, and I pray it does the same for you!

If you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know in the comments section. À la prochaine!