Before we get into how to be grateful, let's talk about happiness. Many people might argue that they don't have much to be grateful for, which is why we need to think about happiness. What we think makes us happy versus what actually makes us happy. Many people might think that good grades would make them happy, while others might think that a secure job or possibly a life partner could make them happy. According to research, yes, these things can make a person happy, but to what extent. A study shows that even after getting good grades and a secure job and even after getting married after a certain point, these things do not increase our happiness score. It's the little things that can make us happy and we must learn to be more grateful for the little things in life. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essayAn activity that can help us be more grateful is the exercise of savoring. Savoring can be defined as using thoughts and actions to increase the intensity of pleasure from positive emotions and experiences. Often throughout our lives we forget to live in the moment and enjoy the little things in life. We worry about the past and the future, never truly enjoying the present moment or appreciating the little things happening around us. As we savor the present moment, we should notice the little things that can make a day special, like the smile of a friend, the kindness of a stranger, the beauty of a sunset, etc. As we go about our day, we should look around us and take note of what we see and experience. We might notice the sounds we hear in the background, like the sound of children laughing and playing, birds singing, different smells around us like freshly cut grass or beautiful flowers in our garden. Savoring gives us many more reasons to be grateful. To create a habit, we can practice a simple exercise of writing down an activity that we enjoyed during the day. By savoring, we are able to realize the many reasons to be grateful. Another way to be more grateful is to keep a gratitude journal. Keeping a gratitude journal would go a long way in becoming more grateful and appreciative of what we have. By noticing the little things that matter to us throughout our day, we can focus more clearly on what we should be grateful for. The habit of being grateful begins with appreciating every positive thing in life and knowing that there is nothing too small to be grateful for. Every day we should take time out of our busy lives and write down about five or ten things that made us joyful that day and made us appreciate life more. Take a minute to be grateful. You may need to find moments to be grateful for. At the office, at school or while walking in a park, if only we could feel the breeze and take the opportunity to relax, put our feet up and think about how much these little things in our daily lives can make us happy. If only we could take the time to observe and notice the ordinary for which we can be grateful. We should always show our appreciation to each other. By expressing gratitude to others, we can foster an atmosphere of gratitude that will actually help us become moregrateful. Often we don't think about appreciating and thanking the people around us; We often forget to tell people how much they mean to us and how much their existence means to us. For example, we can always say a little thank you from time to time to our parents for preparing food for us, sending us to school, taking care of us, and practically raising us. We can leave a note of appreciation to our teachers for passing on their knowledge to us or to the helpers from our home to school to work or even on the street, it is not necessarily a big gesture of appreciation, just a little thanks you definitely go a long way. It's truly amazing what sending a little thank you note can do. You don't need to write a big novel to thank them, just a few words to let them know how much they mean to you and how their contribution, energy and efforts have made you happy. Thank you not only makes us happy, but it also makes the other person think about what they are grateful for. Give back as part of Thanksgiving. Besides letting people know you're grateful, it's also about giving back to your community and friends. For many people, giving back to other members of their local community is the key to having more gratitude. Not only would it make you more grateful for the things you take for granted, but studies have found that volunteering to care for others increases our own happiness, and therefore our willingness to be more grateful. For example, we can help a friend study in a subject in which he or she is having difficulty, we can help our parents by running small errands for them, we can even help them by lending an ear to anyone in difficulty or who wants to talk. . If you really want to make a change, you can simply volunteer with NGOs where people need care and support. Not only will they be grateful to you, but it will also make you realize and feel grateful for the many gifts of life that you possess. Make sure you say “thank you” regularly. Use the words “thank you” as a form of mantra or prayer. Saying the words out loud and expressing them can help cement the feeling of gratitude in our lives. While saying thank you, we should try to maintain eye contact and make sure we are sincere and authentic. Focus on the goal of showing kindness. When someone does something nice for you, for example, gives you a gift, brings you a hot meal, notice how much they wanted to bring something positive into your life, notice the efforts people make for you . Someone gave up their precious time and energy to do something kind and positive for you. We should take note and appreciate what people are doing. This should promote an atmosphere of gratitude and appreciation, giving us more reasons to be grateful. Another way to become more grateful is to use the correct words to describe our lives. Using negative language and an overall negative mindset can be detrimental and make a situation more difficult to thank. We should try to get rid of the negative energy and mindset towards a situation in order to be grateful for it. For example, instead of using negative terms, we can replace them with more neutral terms so as not to associate an undesirable feeling with them. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. Get a, 30(7), 890-905.