Master the Art of Gratitude With These 15 Tips

🕒 Last Updated on December 29, 2022

Mastering the Art of Gratitude

Make You Smile Back is pleased to present this article concerning how to master the art of gratitude with 15 creative and innovative tips.

Gratitude is widely known as a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives from another individual.  But gratitude goes beyond the enlightenment of appreciation to God and/or a higher being.  It can be life-changing.

If you would like to find out what gratitude is, why the practice of gratitude is important and the benefits of gratitude, this post is for you.  We shall also discuss 15 best gratitude activities along with examples and the best ways to practice gratitude.  By the end of this article, you will be well equipped to become a better and happier person.

**Psst!  If you want a sneak peak of the inspiring motivational video now, here’s your chance!**

The Power of Saying ‘Thank You‘!

If we expand further upon Densel Washington’s amazing insights from the above YouTube Video, we must realize the power of thank you is limitless. In fact, the more we find things to be thankful about, great and particularly small then the more growth and well-being floods into our lives.

The ‘poor me’ consciousness simply creates a culture of pessimism and negativity, a culture that overshadows our positive state of being. Whereas the vast vocabulary and the colorful language of thank you creates positivity and a real appreciation of things that are so easily overlooked. Thank you helps us to savor life and find beauty and truth, it helps us discover our true nature, abilities and talents.

Thank you stokes the fire of creativity and introduces us to higher levels of awareness and consciousness. The thank-you process motivates us to act because the appreciation that it produces gives us real power. It is a power that inspires, a power that rejoices more and complains less, a power that realizes our lives are dictated most of all by what thoughts we generate in our minds.

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What is Gratitude?

The Latin word known as ‘gratia’ is where the word gratitude originated. ‘Gratia’ means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness.  Gratitude is also associated with sincere appreciation from receiving a kind gesture from someone.

When you have gratitude in your life, you begin to realize all the goodness in your life and the goodness of other people in turn.  As a result, gratitude also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals — whether to other people, nature, or a higher power. 

Why is the Practice of Gratitude Important

Everyone wants to experience more happiness and emotional well-being.  In today’s world, it has received more popularity in both psychological research and scientific studies in the nature and practice of gratitude.

Researchers like Martin Seligman, Robert Emmons, and Michael McCullough have come up with some impressive insights which should be highly noted.  Their findings include:

• Our thoughts can actually trigger physiological changes is in our body that affects our mental and physical health.
• If you increase your positive thoughts, like gratitude, you can increase your subjective sense of well-being as well.
• Practicing gratitude also can be measured objectively as it is observed that physical health benefits include fewer symptoms of illness and increased immune functioning as a result.

A study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) examined blood flow in various brain regions while subjects summoned up feelings of gratitude.  Higher levels of activity in the hypothalamus were found in subjects who showed more gratitude overall.

Furthermore,  these higher levels of activity include an array of essential bodily functions, including eating, drinking and sleeping. It also has a huge influence on your metabolism and stress levels.

Feelings of gratitude directly activated brain regions are also associated with the neuro-transmitter dopamine, the ‘feel-good’ chemical released when emotions of happiness are experienced.

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The Benefits of Gratitude Lead You to a Better & Happier Life

• Gratitude improves physical and mental health
• Gratitude improves self-esteem
• Gratitude enhances empathy & reduces negative emotions
• Gratitude improves our quality of sleep
• Gratitude makes people like us more
• Gratitude strengthens our emotion
• Gratitude leads to a positive attitude
• Gratitude enables us to be much happier in life

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Master the Art of Gratitude with These 15 Tips

Want to start being a better and happier person?  Let’s get proactive and get inspired in mastering the art of gratitude with these 15 tips!

Tip 1: Gratitude Journaling

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Be sure to read this blog post entitled,
‘The Awesome Healing Power of Journaling’

http://madeyousmileback.com/the-awesome-healing-power-of-journaling/

Tip 2: Write Thank-You Notes

Tip 3: Thank-You Notes via Social Media

Tip 4: Create a Gratitude Garden

Tip 5: Gratitude Walks

Tip 6: Create a Gratitude Tree

Tip 7: Create a Gratitude Jar

Tip 8: Give Gratitude Flowers

Tip 9: Create a Gratitude Rock

Tip 10: Create a Gratitude Box

Tip 11: Read Books About Gratitude

Tip 12: Respond with Gratitude and Donate

Tip 13: Create an Inspiring Thankful Window

Tip 14. Create a Gratitude Collage

Tip 15: Create Your Own Personal Gratitude Mindset

Example of an Enlightening Case Study About the Power of Gratitude!

 Research recently conducted at the University of California-Davis found gratitude gives the person expressing it the power to heal, to be energized, and to change lives. 

As a result, the Greater Good Science Center, entered in a collaboration with Robert Emmons of the University of California-Davis and launched a project together.

It is known as ‘Expanding the Science and Practice of Gratitude’.  For more information concerning their project and findings, please check out this link.

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In Conclusion…

“Say thank you in advance for what’s already yours.”

Denzel Washington
Emmy Award Winner & Motivational Speaker

In conclusion, Melody Beattie says it best:  “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.  It turns what we have into enough, and more.  It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, and confusion to clarity.  It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.  Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.”

Made You Smile Back presented to you the definition of what gratitude truly is, why the practice of gratitude is so important, and described the many benefits that gratitude provides.

15 Tips were shared on how to ‘master the art of gratitude‘ with thought-provoking activities for both children and adults alike.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

I Leave You With This Final Motivational Video…

For additional motivation, I leave you with this incredible YouTube speech from none other than Denzel Washington.  I promise you, when you have finished watching, you will be so excited to practice an act of kindness or some other gesture of gratitude today!

Much appreciation to Poovanesh Pather for her assistance in Keyword Research in preparing for this post.  For more information, please check out this link.