As children when we complained, we were met with the tried and true sage words of wisdom to "count your blessings." As we have grown older and wiser, counting our blessings takes on a new meaning, as a gratitude practice has become an important part of our lives. If you are reading this and currently do not practice gratitude, that is okay, too! A gratitude practice can be discovered anytime and anywhere and you are never too young or too old to start a gratitude practice. When you learn to practice gratitude, you are simultaneously learning how to count your blessings and we want to share with you how to do that.
What It Means to Count Your Blessings
The word “blessings” is often associated with religious concepts, and the phrase “count your blessings” has been around since the 1880s. This idiom translates to “being grateful for the good things rather than complaining.” Hymns, films, and poems have all used this phrase as their title, signifying its importance in the eyes of so many people.
At Gratitude Gifted, we find the phrase to be incredibly important, too. To us, it perfectly captures what a gratitude practice represents in a way that everyone can understand, no matter their age, level of intelligence, or personal opinions. It represents the focus on the good instead of the bad, and when your mind focuses on the positives, it changes your entire outlook on life. It will change the way you see people, by helping you feel empathy rather than criticism. It will change the way you see yourself and help you see all of the positives you have going for you instead of having a victim mentality. Counting our blessings, practicing gratitude, looking at life as a glass half full: no matter which of these phrases you personally prefer, they all represent the same thing.
How to Count Your Blessings Using Gratitude
The incredible beauty of gratitude is that it naturally allows you to take your parent’s advice of blessings counting into practice. Here are four things you can do today to discover how to count your blessings.
- Start a gratitude journal. What better way to count your blessings than to intentionally list them, and watch that list grow every single day? If you’re interested in learning more, check out our Ultimate Guide to a Gratitude Journal.
- Tell someone you are grateful for them. At Gratitude Gifted, we believe so deeply that one of the greatest gifts in life is the people we love. Write someone a letter, send a text or email, or better yet, tell someone to their face why they are a blessing to you. Gratitude is so powerful, and if someone is a blessing in your life, tell them! In telling someone why you’re grateful for them, it will help you realize the why behind your gratitude.
- Change your mindset and focus on the good. Tony Robbins famously says that where focus goes, energy flows. When you focus on the many blessings you have in your life, you will have less time and energy to focus on the negatives.
- Make a physical list of your blessings. This is an incredibly powerful exercise, especially if you are feeling depressed, anxious, or stressed. Grab a blank sheet of paper and write down as many blessings as you are able. They can be small or large, but keep writing until you exhaust your mind. After you have an extensive list, read through all of them. When you look your life through the lens of gratitude, it will completely change the way you view what is happening around you.
Quotes for Counting Your Blessings
Gratitude is at the core of the phrase “count your blessings” and we want to share quotes with you that focus on gratitude and counting your blessings. After all, everything we do here at Gratitude Gifted is entirely focused on the power of gratitude! These gratitude quotes serve a similar purpose as the phrase itself, which is to gently remind you that you have things to be grateful for. Our hope in sharing these with you is that you find one that resonates with you today. These are simple, straightforward gratitude quotes, to remind you every day to find a reason to be grateful.
- “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
- “Gratitude is the state of mind of thankfulness. As it is cultivated, we experience an increase in our sympathetic joy, our happiness at another's happiness.” - Stephen Levine
- “Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist of just words but gratitude is shown in acts.” – Henri Frederic Amiel
- “Gratitude can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” – Melody Beattie
- ”Start each day with a positive thought and a grateful heart.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” - Gilbert K. Chesterton
- “It’s a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.” - Germany Kent
- “Learn to be thankful for what you already have, while you pursue all that you want.” - Jim Rohn
- “The heart that gives thanks is a happy one, for we cannot feel thankful and unhappy at the same time.” - Douglas Wood
- "If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily." - Gerald Good
- "Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more.” - Oprah
- "Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more.” - Melody Beattie
- “Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of gratitude.” - A.A. Milne
- “We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” – Cynthia Ozick
The tiny parts of life are a blessing: running water to brush our teeth with. A refrigerator to hold our breakfast. Pillows on our beds. Clean drinking water. Warm sunshine. Eyesight to read internet gratitude blogs.
The big parts of life are a blessing: Employment. Having dear friends. Falling in love. Challenging circumstances. The ability to learn and grow. Our families. There is gratitude in everything.
No matter how you move forward in your day, we encourage you to spend time practicing gratitude and counting your blessings. We are thankful you took the time to read this blog post today! If you are interested in learning more about gratitude, we have a Gratitude Guide for you!
If there is anything we can do to help support your gratitude journey, you can email us anytime at support@gratitudegifted.com. We would love to hear from you!
Spread gratitude.
Change the world.
