Gratitude

November 8, 2025

What does gratitude mean? Is it an emotion, attitude, moral virtue, habit, personality trait, or coping response? Scientific research, randomized clinical trials, and peer reviewed articles point to a link between gratitude and well-being.

I like that science backs up what I know to be true for me about gratitude, but I didn’t start practicing gratitude because of scientific studies or empirical data. I learned about gratitude practices eight years ago, but didn’t really use them consistently. You get back what you put in. In the last four years, gratitude has become part of my daily practice. Here is what I have learned and how I practice gratitude.

Gratitude is about being present to the positive people, places, and things that surround me each day. The small things I am grateful for are the most powerful. Noticing the leaves changing colors in the fall, a full moon, being able to sleep soundly, conversations with people I love, and noticing how happy my dog becomes trying to chase away all the squirrels and chipmunks in my yard.

Gratitude for me is not about material things, accomplishments, or titles, or what other people think of me. Those things occur based on a variety of factors, and they can easily disappear. In my experience, they bring only fleeting feelings of well-being. It’s like eating a piece of cake, great now, but not substantial enough to provide actual sustenance.

Here are the gratitude practices that I use. They work in good times and in hard ones. They are as necessary today for me as breathing.

Daily: name three things I am grateful for and one thing I am proud of myself for doing

Daily: read short reflections, affirmations or something that inspires me to think differently

Daily: notice something in nature that is beautiful

These daily practices are short and simple. I can do them in the morning while making coffee, in the car when I’m in traffic, or on a walk with my dog. In the beginning I had to intentionally think about doing them and then actually take action to do them, but now this is automatic and comes naturally to me throughout each day.

When I have more time or feel stress, irritability or just recognize that I have been very busy and need to re-focus more on gratitude, I’ll use these:

Journaling: I just put pen to paper and write in spiral notebooks. I do this daily, but not everyone gravitates towards writing. There are journaling prompts, calendars, and notebooks of every variety. If you want items that are more attractive or structured, try Amazon.

Meditation or Mindfulness: I admit, I hated this one at first. Guided meditations I explored in Yoga classes and in groups didn’t quite resonate for me, but they do for many. I use the 5-minute mediations available on my Peloton equipment and app. I have also tried Calm and Headspace. Podcasts or YouTube channels have them too.

Gratitude Tree or Jar: This one is great for kids. Put notes in a jar of one thing you are grateful for that day. You can get a branch from outside or draw a picture and hang pieces of paper with the grateful words on them. These are great to look at on a hard day or as a family at Thanksgiving or another holiday.

Vision Board: This is a fun one to do with kids too. If you are creative, you can make your own or you can buy one with interchangeable cards. I like Bold Tuesday.

Gratitude for me began as a coping response, and it still fills that role. It has grown over the years to become part of my identity and how I approach my world and navigate my life. Each day I choose to live in gratitude and that has changed the trajectory of my life one day at a time.

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