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Ideas & Activities for Gratefulness

Merriam-Webster describes gratefulness as expressing gratitude and being appreciative of benefits received. Being grateful and showing gratitude are ways in which people feel positive about their life experiences and can help a person to maintain a positive attitude. Feeling gratitude turns a person's attention from what they don't have to what they do have.

  1. Types

    • Gratitude or gratefulness is something that can be experienced quietly through a person's individual experiences. Some people find gratitude in religion, spirituality or just in their everyday experiences. Some people choose to acknowledge gratefulness inwardly and reflect on their own feelings without sharing with others. Others may be more outward in their acceptance of gratitude and may express it more readily through thank you notes or other tokens.

    Journal

    • One activity for finding gratefulness is to keep a journal. Writing down positive experiences can provide something to reflect on and be grateful for. A gratitude journal does not need to be for anyone but the person who is writing it and is generally kept private. Journal entries can be made daily, weekly or just whenever the person feels a sense of gratefulness. A person who recognizes what they are grateful for will have a better sense of well-being and experience positive emotions.

    Thank You

    • Writing thank you cards or notes of appreciation to people for whom we are grateful for is a great activity. Expressing gratitude either verbally or through a written message is a therapeutic idea to show people how grateful you are for their contributions in your life. The simple act of expressing gratitude through a letter or thank you card increases a person's happiness; this is true not only for the recipient but also the writer.

    Other

    • People can make a list of things that they are grateful for and carry that list around with them or post it in a place where they will see it often. For every negative experience a person has, he should replace it with a positive experience that he is grateful for. Writing a letter of gratitude and not mailing it is also a positive activity that provides the person the opportunity to express their feelings without actually sending it to the person.

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