In the daily hustles of modern life, we often fail to make time for the little things. With deadlines, personal problems, and an ongoing pandemic—it’s hard to find the time to sit back and relax. However, research shows that practicing gratitude can have numerous benefits in your life. From experiencing more positive emotions and developing resilience, it’s safe to say that being grateful can be life-changing. Here are ways to practice gratitude:

1. Start your day being thankful.

Too often, we wake up and immediately check our phones for time and updates. Unfortunately, this can harm our health.

Instead of checking your social media page, consider reflecting on what you are grateful for so far. Get up, stretch, and sit up on your mattress. You can sit in a lotus pose and close your eyes for this step.

Take deep breaths and focus on the things you’re grateful for. It can be anything from achievements at work to simple pleasures in life. Let yourself feel positive that you have another chance at life, and slowly exhale. Once you do this regularly, you’ll find your mood instantly improving!

2. Acknowledge the good things in life, even on a bad day.

This step is a little more complicated because it requires managing your emotions. When your day is particularly challenging, it can be hard to focus on the positives.

Say, for instance, you had a work problem and wondered how it all went wrong. Before you know it, your mood is incredibly low, and you feel unmotivated to get better.

When this happens, it can lead you to a spiral of depression and self-loathing. One way to combat these negative feelings is to start internally reeling yourself from loathing. Here are some affirmations which can help:

• “I will learn from this mistake.”
• “I’m upset and angry this happened. I’m not going to suppress it, but I won’t take it out on other people either.”
• “This is just a setback. I’ll get back on my feet and make things right.”

Once you start acknowledging that most problems are only temporary, you’ll find there are many more things to appreciate.

3. Take a breather.

Perhaps a change in your routine can bring some perspective. For this step, consider switching up your schedule, like taking daily walks or planning a trip away. Once you relax, you’ll gain more perspective on how your life has so many things to be grateful for.

Learning how to practice gratitude daily can improve your outlook on life. Once you realize that there is so much more to living, you’ll find there’s always something to be grateful for every day.