Imagine this: Something great happens, I mean really great, and you’re so thrilled by it that you can’t contain your gratitude. Then time passes, and your thankfulness wanes. More time passes, and you either completely forget about what took place or maybe even begin to complain about the burdens that blessing brought into your life.

Have you ever had that experience? And if so, have you considered practical ways to practice gratitude?

I have. The first thing I examined was why my gratitude tends to lessen with time. Then I came up with a few things I could do to become more thankful.

I’d be grateful if you’d allow me to share my thoughts with you.

Isn’t there always something for which we should be grateful? If you Google “gratitude journal,” you’ll find thousands of available options. And if you were to write down a few things you were grateful for each morning, I’m confident you’d come up with a rather lengthy list. But don’t we often tend to focus on the negative instead – the could have been, should have been, why me moments?

I spent some time with two of my closest friends recently. About an hour into our visit, one of them looked at me and said, “I’m not hearing much gratitude from you.”

Wow, that hit me right between the eyes. She was right. I was focusing on all the negatives holding me back instead of the countless blessings I should be grateful for. How have I allowed God’s gifts to be pushed to the back of my mind?

Don’t get me wrong; I’m still very aware of my borrowed lungs and the fact that I’m still alive. And I thank the Lord regularly for my family and friends. But there are days when I allow my “oh, woe is me” to take over.

I began to explore what was missing from the days I was less than grateful. Without fail, I found I was neglecting my time with the Lord. Some days I would pray before getting out of bed, while on others, I would forego any focused time with God. On the other hand, on days when I spent intentional time with the Father in the Word, my attitude became one of gratitude.

This discovery honestly doesn’t surprise me. I’ve been a Christ-follower since I was fourteen, and I’m aware that filling my heart and mind with scripture and spending intimate time with God is necessary for my well-being as a believer. That’s why my lack of consistency in intentional quiet time disappoints me. After all these years, I continue to stray.

As a health and fitness coach, I often tell clients, “If you want good results, you have to stop quitting.”

I should take my own advice and apply it to my walk with Lord. I want good results each and every day! So, why do I quit what I know works? A personal, intimate relationship with the Lord is the answer to finding joy and gratitude.

When we neglect to nurture our relationships, they wither. Our relationship with the Lord is no different. If we walk away, we become empty, and that leads to an ungrateful spirit.

In my husband’s Biblically-based relationship course, he shares that God never loses focus on us. If we feel distant from the Lord, we’ve taken our focus off Him.

That’s a truth I must remind myself of consistently.

So, what do we need to do to regain our gratitude?

Here are five practical ways to practice gratitude from my program, The Well-Balanced Woman Project.

1. Write it down

Make a daily habit of writing down a few things you can be grateful for. Ideally, you’ll do this early and late in the day. It gets your day off on the right foot and sets you up for a good night of sleep.

2. Tell people you’re thankful

Show people you’re grateful by thanking them, whether your neighbor for keeping his yard so lovely or the cashier at the store. Be thankful and let them know about it.

3. Be grateful for the little things

There are plenty of small things you can be grateful for each day. A great cup of coffee, the sound of birds in the morning, or the fact that you have a new set of tires on your car can all uplift your mood.

4. Avoid making comparisons

When you compare one thing to another, you demean it. Be grateful for something exactly as it is. This applies to people and things.

5. Minimize judging and complaining

Judging and complaining are the opposite of gratitude. People that do this aren’t enjoyable to be around, either. Keep your negative thoughts and opinions to yourself. Avoid judging others, and you’ll be happier and less stressed.

BONUS:

Sit with the Lord daily, study His Word, and tell Him how grateful you are for His grace, mercies, and blessings.

I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever. 
Psalm 86:12



Remember, gratitude is free, enjoyable, and effective. It may not always come naturally. After all, we’re imperfect humans. But consistently practicing these five exercises will create habits to help us reach our gratitude goals.