9 Benefits of Gratitude

Life sometimes throws everything at us, including the kitchen sink. Doubtless, many challenges come our way – financial pressures, illness, stress from work, relationships taking strain, etc., and that’s to say nothing of the things happening in the world beyond us that affect our sense of well-being. When all of this fills your mind, you can, as far as is possible, decide how to respond to it. One response that we can lean into is to meet all of life with an outlook and posture of gratitude. Gratitude and praise are the keys to the Christian walk. Being thankful is one of the things that marks the lives of believers (Ephesians 5:4).

Whether a person is a believer or not, there are many benefits to living life with gratitude as a key feature. Once a year around the Thanksgiving table, many American families gather and verbalize the things for which they are grateful.

What this practice often reveals is that there is much that we have in our lives, and we do not always take the time to appreciate it. Taking on a lifestyle and mindset of gratitude helps you keep those things front and center throughout the year, and not just in November or only every so often.

Advocating for a life of gratitude is not to say there is little to no room for mourning or sorrow. When hardship comes our way or in the lives of those around us, we weep with those who weep, and recognize that there’s a season for everything in life, including joy and mourning. This helps us to be grateful without becoming glib about the hardships of life.

There is such a thing as toxic positivity, a stubborn insistence on seeing the bright side to everything and not acknowledging when life gets messy and unpleasant. The Bible encourages us to view life more holistically, to take the good and the bad in stride, but to continue walking with hope because Jesus defeated death and God can turn even the worst circumstances around (Romans 8:28).

If you recall the movie “Inside Out” from a few years ago, the character Joy gives us a brief glimpse at what toxic positivity looks like. She was not okay with not being okay, and that caused problems in her relationships.

Benefits of Gratitude for Our Lives

Gratitude and the ability to express it are gifts to both you and the people around you. Below are six main benefits of an attitude of gratitude in your life.

Gratitude does wonders for contentment.

Our culture is constantly on the move for the next thing, and we don’t always stop to appreciate what we do have. We can turn our gaze at our neighbor and want what they have – a bigger house, a bigger car, well-behaved kids, a larger income, a better job, a better spouse, more vacations, newer gadgets, a well-manicured yard, and so much else.

That dissatisfaction can permeate every facet of our lives, with the result that we are never content. We always want more and feel anxious because of it. Instead of contentment, our lives become marked by restlessness, anxiety, and anger when we don’t get something we think will make our lives better. Contentment doesn’t mean you don’t have ambition; it simply means that you’re aware that more of whatever you’re looking for won’t bring you happiness or peace.

An anonymous person said, “Gratitude turns what we have into enough,” and that is so true. Gratitude allows us to pause and take stock of what we have, which is often plenty. It keeps the anxiety for more at bay.

Gratitude helps our sense of well-being and mental health.

One result of constantly striving is the anxiety mentioned above, not to mention the stress and frustration of trying to keep up on stay on top of things. Amy Collette says “Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul” and that goes a long way for our sense of well-being.

Creating room for gratitude allows us to pause and appreciate what we have, to cease our striving and regain perspective. Practicing gratitude tends to reduce our stress levels, and that’s great for our health because stress lowers our body’s immune response to threats.

Gratitude helps you face challenges with a positive attitude.

Though challenges come, being a grateful person who appreciates what they have positions you to face those challenges with a positive outlook. You’re more likely to try new things and to embrace challenges in ways that overcome them if you face them empowered by gratitude.

Gratitude helps you confront and recover from setbacks.

Not only can you face challenges better with a mindset focused on gratitude, but when setbacks occur, you can recover from them much quicker. If, when setbacks occur, you get in your own way and give in to negative thinking, that can sap your motivation and energy for creative thinking, and that in turn makes recovering from the setback an uphill battle.

Gratitude helps your relationships.

In our relationships, we appreciate the people that see the good we do. If you clean up after someone, if they acknowledge that and thank you, that makes you feel seen, and your effort appreciated. If you’re not thanked, you can feel taken for granted, and that can start the journey toward resentment.

Expressing your gratitude toward and for people goes a long way toward making the people in your life feel loved. Additionally, people who are genuinely grateful for life and all the gifts they have tend to be more pleasant to be around.

Gratitude empowers you to live in the here and now.

Connected to the idea of contentment is the reality that gratitude helps you to focus on the here and now. A lot of our dissatisfaction is because we’re yearning for things we once had or working to get something we don’t have.

Gratitude can look backward and forward to amazing things that have happened to us or that we’re looking forward to, but gratitude crucially reminds us of what’s worthy of thanks and praise here and now. It can transform how we view our present circumstances.

Getting Started

Practicing gratitude isn’t overly complicated. You can start small and build it into something you do as a part of everyday life. You can practice gratitude through prayer. As you pray, take the time to think through all the things that are going right, the prayers that have been answered, and how you are blessed right at this moment.

Sometimes our prayers are dominated by the things we want, the things we don’t have. These are perfectly fine things to pray for but pausing to be thankful for what we do have gives us a fresh and more mature perspective on life.

Apart from prayer, you can journal. Writing out the things that you are grateful for, past and present, allows you to keep track of the things you’re grateful for. You can do this with a physical diary, a mood board placed somewhere prominent in the house, or make short voice memos or write small notes on your phone.

Other people will “journal” by having a little gratitude jar; they write small notes and post them in the jar whenever something they are grateful for happens. Some people will then take out those notes when they are feeling down, and this can be a source of encouragement in those times. Others will open the jar on New Year’s Eve and look through them all as a way to appreciate all the things the Lord has done in that year and to enter the new year marked with gratitude.

You can also practice gratitude by making the effort to thank people in your life for the things they’ve done or for being who they are in your life. Show them, in whatever way they’ll understand, that you appreciate them. Taking the time to practice gratitude will go a long way to boosting your health, improving your relationships, and giving you a positive outlook on life.