Creating an abundance of gratitude

Gratitude is defined as the quality of being thankful and showing appreciation for kindness. In other words, we recognize and acknowledge that someone or something is valuable to us. The oldest and most common practice is to simply say thank you.

This disposition of mindfulness, of being aware of and grateful for our blessings, helps cultivate gratitude in our daily lives. It is broadly believed that expressing gratitude is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands. If we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have, it will never be enough.

In this article, I want to discuss gratitude beyond its conventional definition of kindness and appreciation for what we have and what we receive daily. I aspire to show you how we can lead our life and work to create an abundance of gratitude around us.

After reading this piece, you will know how making specific choices can create a ripple effect of gratitude, not only in your own life, but also in the life of others.

How to practice gratitude

Writing about gratitude feels like writing about breathing. Is there anything new one can add? Probably not. I did read a wonderful - and somewhat different - blog recently, written by my friend Steven Thompson, who shared his gratitude ritual, one that he learned from Holstee.com. He suggests to write what we are thankful for in these five categories:

Material: the material possessions that we are thankful for in our life.

Relational: the relationships we are thankful for.

Spiritual: what we are thankful for in our spiritual life.

Physical: what we are thankful for in our physical life.

Emotional: what we are thankful for in our emotional life.

We can choose to practice gratitude by writing these things down in the morning or in the evening. Some prefer to think about what they are grateful for after their daily yoga or meditation. The specifics of our practice do not matter much, as long as we develop a gratitude ritual that we can sustain, preferably daily.

I personally practice gratitude at the beginning and the end of each day. I also like to capture my thoughts and reflections as they occur in my journal that is next to my glass of water! This practice only takes a few minutes and gives me joy and a sense of fulfillment like nothing else.

I write down the answers to these questions by philosopher Rabi Baruch Spinoza:

• Who or what inspired me today?
• Who or what brought me joy and happiness today?
• Who or what brought me comfort and peace today?

Photo by Ana Tavares on Unsplazsh

While feeling grateful for every day we get to live and everything that we have is essential, it is far more meaningful when we are specific about our gratitude. We do this by writing down the actual names of those we are grateful for. This cultivates a deep level of human connection that you can only experience for yourself.

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it." - William Arthur Ward

An instant message, a phone call, or an email are all simple ways to express gratitude to those who enriched our life on any given day. We do not need to wait for the perfect moment to say thank you. A letter or a postcard go a long way; but you already knew that! Photo by Kirsty TG on Unsplash

How to create an abundance of gratitude

What we covered so far may often make us believe that gratitude is merely the trait of kind and mindful people. While this is true, there is so much more to gratitude than that.

Let's unpack this.

Of all quotes I've read on gratitude over the years, this one stuck with me.

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity...Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” - Melody Beattie.

How can we leverage gratitude beyond its conventional practice of being grateful for what we have? How can we build a foundation of gratitude to create a new version of the future?

My observation of others and reflections upon myself have led me to believe that those who practice gratitude intentionally also exhibit the following traits in their behaviors:

• They have growth mindset and abundance thinking.
• They connect with others intentionally and help them generously.
• They teach others the change they want to create in the world.
• They are open to possibility that comes with a new situation.
• They offer their forgiveness and practice empathy consistently.
• They do not take anything and anyone for granted.
• They do not believe they are entitled to anything.
• They do not have a huge Ego.
• They give generously.
• They practice what they preach.
• They maintain a positive outlook in life.

If this still sounds philosophical to some of you or you are very busy with your personal and professional commitments to incorporate gratitude in your daily life, I want to share the following practice that will guide you throughout your day and work. Make no mistake; this requires both deliberate effort and commitment to make it work.

A simple daily practice

Although some prefer to over analyze this, a great (regular!) day consists of the following:

• Spending time with our loved ones.
• Doing our work.
• Learning something new.
• Helping/teaching others.

None of the above happens by coincidence. The way we plan to do our work, we also need to plan to help others do their work by teaching them or providing them with resources.

To build this in my daily plan, after my morning gratitude ritual, I answer at least three of the following questions with specific actions and names of people listed in my journal.

• Who can I teach today?
• Who can I help get unstuck today?
• Who can I provide with resources today?
• Who can I offer comfort today?
• Who can I bring some joy today?
• Who can I give hope to today?

We can start practicing this at home each morning with our family or loved ones who live far away and we know they can use our support. Next, we continue with those we work with. If you go to an actual office for your work, you merely need to look around you and, very quickly, you will be able to identify plenty of opportunities among your colleagues.

Just take a few minutes to look around. You can read emails while having your coffee or you can talk with one of your colleagues!

Since, I work from home most of the days now, as soon as I am ready to start my work, I identify at least three opportunities that I can take immediate actions to offer my service to others. I quickly capture their names and specifics in my journal. This usually takes a few minutes. And my coffee tastes so much better with an extra shot of generosity and, often, instant gratitude back to me!

While the joy we receive by practicing this routine every morning may be more than enough to fuel us for the rest of the day, we don't have to stop there. If we are willing to make the effort to make this a deliberate practice, there are many more low-hanging opportunities during our day to continue this ritual.

An extra bonus

Even when we are experiencing a challenging situation ourselves, the best way to overcome our own obstacles is by helping others overcome theirs. While I am not a psychologist or a therapist, I would not write about this if I had not experienced it myself and through others.

By no means, this is trivial. It starts with making a choice; the choice to not let our ego get in the way of evolving into the person who can reshape the rules of their environment and create a meaningful life for themselves and those around them. When we reach this level of mindfulness, through generosity and gratitude, we can transform our lives in ways we never thought possible. And, it starts with reaching out and supporting other people in our life.

Final thoughts

"I truly believe we can either see the connections, celebrate them, and express gratitude for our blessings, or we can see life as a string of coincidences that have no meaning or connection. For me, I'm going to believe in miracles, celebrate life, rejoice in the views of eternity, and hope my choices will create a positive ripple effect in the lives of others. This is my choice." Mike Ericksen.

Not only do I hope, but I firmly believe that our daily choices can create an abundance of gratitude in our lives and those of others. One person at a time! I hope you will join me.

I am grateful to each and every person in my life who has taught me so very generously how gratitude can truly unlock the fullness of life!

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them." - John F. Kennedy

Maria is a storyteller, and a change maker on a mission to empower people to design their learning journey and build the life and career they want. She blogs on LinkedIn daily, and she is the host of the Impact Learning podcast. You can listen on Apple Podcasts, on Google Play Music, on Spotify, on Stitcher, or subscribe via RSS.