It’s so easy to take things for granted in life, especially when you have good health, a roof over your head, and food on your plate. It’s often not until something essential is taken away from you that you panic and realize how grateful you should have been for what you had, no matter how basic it seems.

In our consumerist society, it is almost easier to be ungrateful than it is to be grateful! That’s because so much of what’s conditioned into us is about getting ahead, having more money, more power, and more things. There are so many things we want that we don’t have.

I found out the hard way that gratitude really can transform your life. When you hit rock bottom, as I have in the past, you realize that gratitude is the single most powerful source of happiness and inspiration that you can tune into.

Gratitude is something that can make a miracle out of your day, simply by stopping to pay attention to the beauty of small things.

A huge change can occur in your life when you express daily gratitude. You can literally shift your reality. Don’t believe me? Why not try it for the next 21 days?

If you want to bring more gratitude into your life, the best way to kick start that is to create a daily habit. Here are five easy rituals to increase feelings of gratitude in your life, just try adding at least one of these habits into your routine and see how things begin to transform for you.

Ritual 1 – Saying thank you before you fall asleep

In a journal, note down the things that you are grateful for each day. Be sure to write down the specific details of everything, whether it was the color of the sky, your kid’s achievement or a smile from a stranger.

If you make this the last thing that you do before you get into bed and fall asleep, you are saturating your conscious mind with happy thoughts, putting your head into a calm, thankful, and positive state of joy before you close your eyes for the night.

Ritual 2 – Saying thank you as you wake up

You can make this as big or small as you like. It could be as simple as just saying “thank you” for another new day of life as you rise each morning. It’s a beautiful way to begin the day, and you can easily follow it with a gratitude meditation.

Ritual 3 – Doing something for someone else

This is all about taking the focus off you and onto doing something nice for someone else. You might write a letter to an old friend, call someone who needs a chat, hold the door open for someone, let somebody in in traffic, help a neighbor, volunteer locally or pay it forward by buying a coffee for the next person in line. Try and do something like this every single day.

Ritual 4 – Gratitude at mealtime

Say a few words of gratitude before each meal. You can make this a family ritual, where everyone gets to share something they are grateful for that happened that day. It’s a beautiful way to create a sense of belonging and happiness. If you are alone at mealtimes, simply do this by yourself, create a habit of just giving thanks, and reflecting on what you are grateful for that day.

Ritual 5 – Gratitude for every area of your life

Write down just one thing you are grateful for in each area of your life.
So it might be something about yourself that you like, something about your family, the place you live in or the income you are receiving. the weather that’s happening at the moment!
There really are no rules with gratitude, you can be grateful for whatever makes you feel good.

Here’s some inspiration to help:

• What do you like about your physical self?
• What do you feel proud of lately?
• What events in your past have you overcome with strength?
• What are you excited about lately?
• What are you good at in your daily life?
• Has anyone complimented you lately in any way?
• Who are your favorite loved ones and why?
• What do you love about where you live?

There are infinite reasons to find things to be grateful for and they don’t have to be big; it can be something as simple as that first taste of coffee or the sunshine on your walls, and the music on the radio. In fact, the more you look for sweet moments of gratitude in the tiniest details, the more you will attract those moments to you.

Please share your own gratitude stories with our community in the comments.

I’m going to leave you with two of my favorite quotes about gratitude.

“Wear gratitude like a cloak, and it will feed every corner of your life.” Rumi

“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.” Maya Angelou