Best Ways to Inspire Gratitude with Affirmations

 

Several studies indicate that a gratitude-affirmation practice can  enhance health, happiness, and life satisfaction. Composing and reciting gratitude affirmations may even improve the relationship we have with ourselves and others.

Results of one study, “Counting Blessings Versus Burdens: An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Daily Life,” published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Feb. 2003), indicates conscious recognition of ones blessings has emotional and interpersonal benefits. 

Positive thoughts can rewire the brain, and shift focus to things we are grateful for rather than those we worry or grumble about.

Composing and reciting gratitude affirmations and recording them in a gratitude journal is an effective way to create and acknowledge feel good vibes, and incorporate optimism and creativity into daily activities.

Best Ways to Inspire 

Gratitude 

with 

Affirmations

Schedule 15 minutes of gratitude journal writing time into our daily morning or nightly routine. Aim to compose and jot down at least 3 gratitude affirmations. Then repeat each aloud. 

A study published in Psychosomatic Medicine in 2016 where heart patient participants followed through on this simple self-care practice each day, indicates those who wrote daily in a gratitude journal  had less pain, reduced inflammation, and felt an increased sense of well-being.

Daily repetition of gratitude affirmations helps us hear and re-train our brain to accept gratitude affirmations as possibilities, and be motivated to pursue them.

"Being thankful is not always our natural state of existence. When we record and recite gratitude affirmations as an ongoing practice, akin to a type of strength training for the heart, miracles can happen." ~Nancy Andres

Please feel free to create your own gratitude affirmations or affirm ones I share below:

Gratitude Affirmations

 I am grateful I have a positive attitude. I view each experience, activity, or challenge as an opportunity for self-empowerment and personal growth.

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I am grateful I am part of an infinite Universe that wants the best for me.

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I am grateful for my education. I use my skills, talents, and abilities wisely and show my thankfulness by sharing my light with others.

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I am grateful for my family, friends, acquaintances, and even people I have yet to meet. Each one helps me practice unconditional love and relate to myself and others with compassion and generosity.

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I am grateful and give thanks for all that I have. When I appreciate even the tiniest of things, I attract additional abundance.

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I am grateful for my mind, body, and spirit and treat them with the love, care, and tenderness they deserve.

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I am grateful for the natural world and respect and cherish planet earth and all her living creatures.  

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Identify an admirable quality in another human being, and compliment that person for it. 

An attitude of gratitude helps us recognize grace in people, places, and things. It helps us open our hearts to the moment, improve our health and relationships, and sleep better at night. For more ideas about joyful living read Budget friendly activities to inspire joy.

Reach out via phone, email, text, or in person to express caring for a loved one. Write a snail mail thank you note and spell out what specific thing or things that person exemplifies and why it is appreciated.

Take steps to use color energy to draw more gratitude into life. 

Give a small gift, send a card or flowers, or do something kind for someone you are thankful for. These are healthy ways to express gratitude. 

Whenever we give freely without expecting reciprocation, it brings freedom and abundance to all.

Life offers many moments to give and receive gratitude. When a kind word or praise comes our way, it's life-affirming to take it in and give thanks. 

Whenever we reach out to others to say we're grateful for the help they provide or recognize a job well done, we expand our circle of gratitude. 💖

Next time you hold back from openly expressing  your gratitude or hesitate before accepting positive feedback from others, recite a gratitude affirmation.

Choose to receive the blessings of gratitude and spread the love. 

What are some of your favorite ways to inspire and show gratitude? 

What are some of your favorite ways to be thanked? 

Share questions, ideas, and comments in the section below. 

Please put no links in your comments, as they won't be published that way. Thanks for understanding.

Which gratitude affirmations above do you relate to and why do you think that is so?

Thanks for the visit. If you like what you see, please share on social media, and remember I am grateful to you!

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Awesome Home and Garden Ideas for Fall

To add more cheer and discover gratitude in daily living, I suggest you place fall colors or décor accents in your kitchen, home, apartment, or garden. Then take a spin around your neighborhood to look for signs and sights of Autumn in the air. 

Post Updated 8/29/21

The ideas in this blog post show you a selection of things I enjoy seeing, doing, or eating, as well as the awesome creations of the season from fellow bloggers near and far. 

Which ones appeal to you? Please let me know in the comments section below. 

How to Use Fall Colors to Awaken Your Senses

When you prepare, serve, and eat a colorful array of fall fruits and vegetables, you'll get important nutrients your body needs to work and play at an optimum level.

Favorite Fall Fruit and Vegetables

For Stunning Tablescape Ideas Drop by at Clearissa Coward's Command Center and see Seven Fall Tablescapes for Your Inspiration



Then travel over to  

Carol Chappell’s blog, Through My Front Porch for a Fall Home Tour. It highlights the lovely autumn touches in her farmhouse décor with traditional ideas too.

Next in line is a tip from me to envision the beautiful colors of autumn leaves.

Gold, rust, amber, scarlet, and browns of autumn leaves and soil remind us of transitions. These colors provide grounding energy  to center you and connect you to Mother Earth. 

Then, find more ideas at Improve Health Spend Quality Time in Nature.

What things are you grateful for this fall? Please share that with us in the comments section below. 

I'm thankful for the cooler weather here in Tucson, and happy to be getting outdoors more often.

I'm so grateful for my eyesight, hearing, sense of smell, touch, and taste. 

One day at a time, I'm thankful I follow through on self-care practices that keep my body, mind, and spirit fit. 

As we age, being consistent with self-care is such an important thing we can do for ourselves. 

Another biggy is to appreciate what we have, and give thanks for our blessings. An attitude of gratitude and willingness to learn new things goes a long way in promoting good health, serenity, and happiness. 💓 GIVE THANKS!

Fall can be a time to look inward, and re-evaluate your priorities. Do you feel the need to do that? Please share your thoughts on that as well.

Wishing you a Happy, Safe Halloween and Awesome Fall. Before you go, share the love on social media.

See me on Facebook and Pinterest for more. 💖

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Top Reasons to Practice Gratitude with Tips to Help You Do It

It's simple to develop or deepen a gratitude practice, yet the impact it makes on well-being is phenomenal. 

This post has been updated 5/o7/2024

Gratitude Helps You:

See goodness in your life, instead of taking it for granted.

Improve your sense of well-being.

Enhance relationships.

Shift perspective to positives.

Reduce stress.

Lighten your mood.

Create energy that helps you feel fully alive.

Empower yourself.

Generate compassion and generosity toward others.

Tap into the lovingkindness inside you.

Kindle inspiration and creativity.

Sleep contentedly.

Integrate mind with body to boost immune system, develop resilience to setbacks, and lower blood pressure.

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See what I mean? Giving thanks stimulates those warm, fuzzy, feelings as well as improves overall wellness.

Please try the techniques listed below. Each is intended to help you make a gratitude practice a mindful part of your self-care plan.

3 Tips to Help with a Gratitude Practice

1. Write in a Gratitude Journal 

Designate a paper bound notebook or journal as a gratitude journal. Use a pen with ink in the color you consider to be a grateful  color. Try using a marker, chalk, or colored pencils if you prefer. 

Journal writing is a tangible, grounding way to acknowledge and record the gifts in your life. Writing with colors adds color energy to the mix, and helps you tune into your senses and the present moment. 

Whether you journal every day, three times a week, or once a week, commit to a regular time to journal. Then, honor your commitment. 

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2. Send thank-you notes  

Handwritten thank-you notes are a meaningful way to show others you were touched by their words, gestures, hospitality, understanding, time, or effort. The note can be brief, but make it as specific as possible. Mention the other person's act of kindness, and what it meant to you.

Sit down with your children, after they have received a gift. Discuss the idea that presents and other acts of kindness like a new book or toy or an outing to the beach with a friend's family aren't their birthright. 

Teach kids a valuable life lesson by following through. This is a good way to help children develop a lifelong practice of acknowledging gifts in their lives. If they are too young to write, a picture can say thank you too.

Make gratitude part of your self-care routine. Notice those people who make your life richer. The first month, send one of them a written thank you note. Then look for and send a thank you note to someone the next month, and so on.  Then, take a moment to write and mail a thank you note to yourself.

Be kind and send a simple thank you note or at least call when you receive a gift. Set a good example for your children. Express your thanks in person, email, or over the phone.

Just remember, nothing beats a thank-you note written on paper and sent in an envelope. It conveys the message that you took time to do it, and are grateful for that person's thoughtfulness. In fact, it can turn an acquaintance into a friend. 

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3. Curtail complaining for 24 hours 

This is a big one. Rather than find fault with others or yourself, make a healthier choice and search for hope and possibility in every situation. 

This applies to difficult people or conditions at work, at home, in your community, with social contacts, and with world leaders and issues. 

A challenging or stressful incident can teach you much about your inner strengths, and heighten patience, courage, and resourcefulness. 

First, admit you're uncomfortable when people don't act the way you think is right or things don't go your way. 

Look at this need to control with self-compassion. Then use kind eyes to lighten your perspective. A  gentle attitude helps reduce anxiety, stress, and self judgment. 

Non-attachment allows you to observe which things you are powerless over, or reveals solutions you may not have thought of before. 

Use this practice of not complaining one day at a time, and each day start fresh. Observe things without finding fault, and you'll have clear vision about what is working in your life.

Gratitude Improves Your Outlook

The Health and Relationship Benefits of Gratitude, what health pros have found.

Gratitude and Adolescent Materialism and Generosity.

Easy Strategies to Use Colors to Draw Gratitude into Your Life.

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Before you go please comment in the space provided below.

What helps you focus on gratitude and what happens when you do?

Which of the 3 gratitude development practices above haven't you tried, but appeal to you? Please explain.

Have you reaped the rewards of a gratitude practice? In what ways?

Please don't put links in your comment, as I won't be able to publish it that way.

Thanks for the visit and know that I'm grateful for YOU! 💗

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This Nov Use Purple to Inspire You

Purple is my November color, symbol of creativity and higher wisdom. Those who respond to purple may have an artistic or dramatic flair. Some wear it, because they intuitively know it balances thinking and calms hyperactivity. Purple can help you too. Use it to give you a sense of connection and to soothe your spirit.

Post Updated 10/31/2024

Gaze at the mandala below. It suggests the continuous circle of life. If you desire completion, continuity, or a new beginning, envision a purple mandala. Place a purple drawing or representation of a mandala in your home meditation area. Then, while you mediate, know that purple energy supports you in each moment as thoughts and feelings freely flow through you.

Use the Crown Chakra to Integrate Mind Body Spirit  

Lavender is a calming essential oil made from flowers that are purple. It's a traditional remedy for insomnia or restlessness at night. It also works to heal scratches, burns, headaches, and worry. 

When you have trouble falling asleep, imagine a field of Lavender flowers. Sprinkle a few drops of Lavender essential oil on your pillow or tip of your nose. It helps you drift softly off to dreamland.

In the color spectrum, purple has the shortest wavelength and vibrates at the highest frequency. Purple paint is a blend of relaxed, cool blue with excitable, hot red. 

Purple is often associated with royalty, nobility, luxury, power, and ambition. Purple also signifies wealth, wisdom, dignity, grandeur, devotion, independence, and magic. In some cultures, purple symbolizes mourning, decadence, and the supernatural.

Want to put more purple into daily living? Wear an Amethyst ring or bracelet to feel protected and serene. Place purple crystals in your work or home environment to feel less pressure about deadlines and reduce stress.

Place purple orchids or any purple flowering plant beside your computer, tablet, or reading area to take note of its beauty, relieve eye strain, and give you a fresh perspective. 

Put purple in your life when you are learning to integrate new skills. Use purple pencils, markers, or other drawing material to encourage your imagination to work in practical ways.

Purple is the color of the crown chakra, the energy center that supports trust, devotion, inspiration, and wisdom. Focus on the area at the top of the head and envision purple. It can help you to feel unity within yourself, with others, and with the Universe.

November is a good time for purple. The color conveys grateful energy. Think of purple's rich color before you start a project or are at a gathering. It will help you view your experiences as building blocks to greater understanding and knowledge. 

Purple is a helpful Thanksgiving color, one that reminds us to count our blessings. Perhaps its ability to inspire will motivate us to serve red cabbage, radicchio, eggplant, or purple grapes at a festive meal this season.

Red Cabbage, Japanese Eggplant, Radicchio

Before you go, take a moment to visualize your favorite shade of purple and imagine it helping you feel inspired and whole. 

Then, please comment by scrolling down below and posting your comment in the space provided. 

I'd love to know about your relationship to purple. For me, it's a unifying color that makes me feel happy, peaceful, and alive. How does purple make you feel? 

Do you wear shades of purple often and for what reasons? Did my blog post and illustrations help you in some way? Please comment below. Refrain from putting links in your comment, as it won't be published at all.

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