When we think of living a healthy lifestyle, we tend to think of eating nutritious foods, getting regular exercise and plenty of sleep, but what you may not realize is that a consistent practice of gratitude is great for your health too! Research shows that regularly expressing gratitude (either by journaling, writing letters or through prayer or meditation) can have a direct and positive effect on your well-being. Studies have found that giving thanks may make you feel more optimistic about your life, improve your happiness level, help you exercise more often and even see your doctor less.

 

Harvard Medical School defines gratitude as “a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives … As a result, gratitude also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals–whether to other people, nature, or a higher power,” and notes that expressing thanks may be one of the simplest ways we can feel better. Practicing gratitude can be simple — taking some time each day to journal about something you are thankful for, writing a note to (or telling) someone what you appreciate about them, or reflecting in prayer or meditation on all of the things you are thankful for — can be great ways to begin sharing your thoughts of thankfulness. Find something that resonates with you and try to incorporate your favorite ways of sharing your appreciation as often as you can into your regular routine.

 

We hope these quotes about expressing gratitude inspire you to consider adding being thankful to your priorities when it comes to healthy habits so that you can reap all of the wonderful benefits that come to you and those around you when we put thankfulness into practice on a regular basis.

 

RELATED: Top 10 Personal Development Quotes to Motivate You To Keep Growing and Learning

 

Tell us, what do you think are the best quotes about gratitude and being thankful? Do you have a favorite way to express gratitude in your life? Please share with us in the comments below.

#1: “Gratitude, like faith, is a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it grows, and the more power you have to use it on your behalf. If you do not practice gratefulness, its benefaction will go unnoticed, and your capacity to draw on its gifts will be diminished. To be grateful is to find blessings in everything. This is the most powerful attitude to adopt, for there are blessings in everything.”— Alan Cohen

#2: “Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

#3: “Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”— Voltaire

#4: “When you look at life through the eyes of gratitude, the world becomes a magical and amazing place.” – Jennifer Gayle

#5: “Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie

#6: “It is not joy that makes us grateful, it is gratitude that makes us joyful.” – David Steindl-Rast

#7: “The real gift of gratitude is that the more grateful you are, the more present you become.” – Robert Holden

#8: “Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” William Arthur Ward

#9: “If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share.” ―W. Clement Stone

#10: “There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy.” ―Ralph H. Blum