Three Steps to Gratitude

 

1. Try to notice when you feel grateful

This simple mindfulness practice can help bring awareness to moments of gratitude. When you feel thankful for something or someone, try to pause and notice what it’s like to sit with that feeling for even just a few breaths. A 2021 study of 133 Chinese mindfulness practitioners showed this practice can lead to a significantly greater sense of life satisfaction.

 

2. Reflect on what you’re grateful for

Journaling at the end of the day can help you highlight positive experiences and recognize that things are going better than you might think. Gratitude practices relate to overall well-being, study participants who listed what they were grateful for on a weekly basis had a more optimistic view of life and fewer physical symptoms of stress. A 2019 study with 1,337 participants suggests that writing a daily gratitude list for 14 days can lead to:

• more positive emotions
• higher subjective happiness
• higher satisfaction with one’s life
• fewer negative emotions
• a decrease in symptoms of depression

 

3. Practicing mental subtraction can help

Mental subtraction is a thought experiment that can amplify and promote gratitude. When something positive happens, try to imagine what it would have been like if it hadn’t, or if an alternative, less desirable outcome would have happened.