How to be more grateful: 7 useful tips

Gratitude is a value that may seem to be being lost. Although saying “thank you” costs nothing, people seem to find it difficult, uncomfortable, and annoying.

For others, it is not that word that is difficult, but to show that they are grateful for what they have done for them. But they should, because our parents, siblings, friends, neighbors… all of them have done something for us on more than one occasion.

It is time to be more grateful for things, both in the form of words and gestures. Therefore, below we will see some strategies that will help us to be a little more grateful in our day to day.

• Related article: "How to be nicer: 8 practical tips"

How to be more grateful

It is not very difficult to be grateful, and your own dictionary definition proves it. According to the DRAE, a grateful person is one who gives thanks, that is, who shows gratitude and gives thanks. It's that simple: being grateful is give thanks for the good things that happen to us in life, both the smallest and the most significant. It costs nothing to be grateful in this life, and it actually does us good.

Being more grateful makes us happier, since it makes us value as more important those good things that happen to us instead of putting so much focus on the bad. This style of thinking is just the opposite of many, since most mortals cannot escape the negative bias, effect (or trap depending on how you look at it) that makes us put more weight on the negative things that happen to us, belittling or even ignoring the positive.

Changing our way of relating to others, thanking them for being there or, simply, valuing more the little things that happen to us can be a very good way to attract happiness and emotional stability to our lives. Happiness and health go hand in hand, and gratitude is a powerful magnet for both., so to achieve this we are going to learn a few strategies that will teach us how to be more grateful.

1. Keep a journal

Our first tip is to keep a journal about the good things that happen to us. Write down all the positive things and for which we are grateful It is very beneficial as it is a very good way to combat the aforementioned negativity bias.

It does not matter if we do it in a notebook or on the computer. The idea is to write down all the good things that happen to us, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant it may seem. Doing so encourages a positive thinking style, making a less and less cognitive effort to detect the good events present in our life.

It is enough to dedicate between 5 and 10 minutes to put what have been those things that have made us feel good and that we are grateful that they have happened. You have to commit to doing it, something that will cost us a little at first but with the passage of time it will become a fully automated habit.

2. Don't avoid negative things

This advice may surprise us and it makes sense. We usually associate gratitude with the good, focusing only on the good and completely ignoring the bad.

Nevertheless, the key to being more grateful is assuming there will be setbacks, that sometimes we cannot avoid them and that, although a bit annoying, they can even help us to appreciate even more the good that happens to us.

Let's look at it in the following way: Isn't it true that bad things have happened to us in the past that we have overcome later? Remembering them also reminds us of how we overcome them, seeing ourselves capable of facing difficulties and achieving success.

3. Value the little things in life

There are many small moments in our daily lives that, although they seem unimportant, influence our well-being.. Getting a seat on the subway, having the toast fall over the side of the bread or having our pet greet us effusively when we get home are little things for which we should be grateful.

But in addition to being grateful for these moments, we can also help others to be aware of them and also value them. Return every token of kindness they offer you, and thank them, even if it's just a simple compliment.

4. Help the others

Help others, it costs nothing and they will almost always thank you. Grateful people not only appreciate what they do for them by saying it, but also by giving it back to them.

Equally, they don't have to do us a favor before to help others. Be a volunteer, offer to improve the day for other people. Gratitude is something that is contagious and helping others is the best way to awaken gratitude in others.

5. Be grateful for the life that has touched you

How can you be grateful for having the life that has touched you? Some of us may see it as a bad thing while others see it as just the opposite., but this is because we live it in the first person or we compare it with the life of those who we think live better than us.

What if we compare it with those who live worse? How many people in this wide world live in utter misery? How many are hungry? There are those who do not even have a bed to sleep in.

Having a house, a family, friends, work… Even the simple fact of living in a place where you don't have to look at the sky every day to see if a bombing is coming. There are many misfortunes that occur in the world that we have never had the misfortune to live, and that most likely we will never experience them.

6. Appreciate the life of your loved ones

Many people have lost their entire family in some natural conflict or misfortune. Others have been losing them through the sad but inevitable passage of age and death. You may have already lost someone important in your life, but you still have the rest.

Value the lives of your loved ones, give thanks that they are still alive and have good health. No one is guaranteed his life, no one knows what might happen tomorrow, if he may die because he has come across the least indicated person on the street. From life to death there is only an instant of difference.

7. Stay in touch with your loved ones

When was the last time you called your grandparents? What about your parents? It's about time, don't you think? Calling your loved ones regularly is a token of appreciation, that you value them, and they, too, will be more likely to call you in the future.

You can also go visit them, send them messages, letters or even gifts, something that shows that you are not forgetting them and that you value them. If necessary, take care of family gatherings, organize them so that the whole clan meets.