December 6, 2021 8 Min Read
12 Reasons to Be Grateful Today
On any given day, you may have a moment where you recognize that you have a lot in your life you should be grateful for. To deepen your mindfulness and control your mental energy, you’ll want to incorporate a regular gratitude practice into your everyday routine. Sometimes though, in the moment, our brains get stuck and it is difficult to think of things we’re grateful for. We’ve got you! Here’s an inspiration list of 12 reasons to be grateful for today, curated by TaskHuman coaches.
1. Resources
It’s easy to take the everyday things in our lives for granted, but things like water, fresh air, and clothes should make us grateful. We also should be grateful for the modern conveniences we have in our lives, like the internet, cell phones, and reliable cars, are also all reasons to be grateful, if you have them.
2. Difficult Moments
It can be difficult to feel grateful for trying times in our lives. Heartbreak, death of a loved one, job loss, are all challenging things to feel grateful for, but they do make us stronger individuals in the end. Coach Mariana Morais explains why we should remember to feel gratitude for the hard times too.
3. People
People are also easy to take for granted. Take a moment to think about all of the people in your life—loved ones, acquaintances, and strangers all shape who you are as a human being, and develop your character. People in your family and people who work in retail are all equally worthy of your gratitude.
4. Emotions
Emotions are easy to overlook because we create them. They feel like such a part of us, but they help us understand ourselves more. In your gratitude practice, try to move beyond basic emotions like “happy” and “sad” and aim for more precise feelings—and don’t hold back. You can be grateful for your inspiration, ambition, joy, sorrow, and grief too.
5. Growth
Comparing ourselves to others often causes us to feel “less than.” We focus on what they do better than us, or what they have that we don’t, which usually results in us losing sight of our own value. We are enough just as we are, and our own evolution is powerful. Coach Amy Glogg gives a raw example of how celebrating your own growth can be powerful.
6. Relationships
Connecting with people is always a reason to be thankful. We can be grateful for the people who enrich our lives because they love us or because they help us to be better versions of ourselves. Include professional relationships and mentor/ teacher/coach relationships in your gratitude practice.
7. Health
We often don’t think about our health—until we don’t have it anymore. But our health is something that should be at the top of our list, because when we’re healthy, we’re able to experience life in its fullest form. For Coach Aya Miklos this is a big idea. Listen to why she no longer takes her health for granted.
8. Nature
Nature surrounds us, yet is so easy to overlook. With its ability to impact our health and emotions, having access to nature is another reason to feel grateful. Practice gratitude for the air, water, sun, and trees by spending more time outdoors and absorbing your surroundings.
9. A New Day
You don’t have to be a morning person to be grateful you have another day on this earth. We all know that it’s easy to take waking up for granted. Coach Celene Liwanag reminds us why we shouldn’t.
Sometimes we need distance from something (or someone) to feel gratitude. It is the space we have from the situation that gives us the clarity to see how it was good for our growth. Within that understanding are opportunities to be grateful.
10. Failures
No one wants to fail. It hurts, and it’s embarrassing. We learn a lot from our failures, though, and we can feel gratitude for that learning. Along with failures, we can be grateful for any challenging situations we were faced with. Both give us opportunities to grow.
11. Completed Relationships
Ending relationships often feels like failure, but it is more specific. In our minds, if the relationship has ended, it must mean that we did something wrong, or “messed up” somehow. It can take time to see how relationships that have ended can be learning experiences. Coach Regina De Los Reyes tells how she’s learned to be grateful for relationships that have ended.
12. Parents
We expect our parents to care for us, and as children, expecting their care without feeling grateful is appropriate. As we mature, we can see that our parents often do more than tend to our basic needs. They support us financially and emotionally. They teach us how to think for ourselves. And sometimes they push us in directions we didn’t see were right for us at the time. Even if you don’t agree with all of the decisions your parents made for you, acknowledging what they gave you will improve your gratitude practice.
Are you ready to take your gratitude practice to the next level? Do you want new ideas for how to improve your practice? Or do you want to chat with a specialist to better understand how your past challenges have helped you grow into the person you are today? Contact a TaskHuman Coach for 1:1 guidance today!
