I have practiced it for many years. Yet to perfect it though.
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It comes natural.
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I do find when negative thoughts are coming into my head that I find myself reminding myself that the positives far outweigh the negatives and I always tell myself to re evaluate this in the morning. For some reason things always seem darker on a night, pardon the pun, and I find when I wake things just donât seem so bad somehow. I then thank my lucky stars I got through whatever was darkening my thoughts.
I do practice gratitude and give thanks for the life I have and have had. Whilst many negative obstacles have popped up during my life I find I have always gotten over those hurdles and come out the other side and it is times like this that I always give my thanks to (the dreaded word for some) God. Sorry I donât mean to turn this into a religious thing so please donât jump on me 
I always thank people for their kindness, be it words or deeds, no matter how small or big it may be. A kind word or gesture could mean the world and more to some people so certainly to me deserves a thank you. Anyway, thank you is good manners.
I do find words of gratitude brings upon others a positive result, even if that result is a smile.
When I hear or learn of what some people go through/are going through itâs then I give thanks for the blessed life I have/have had.
Personally though, Should I do a kind deed for someone I never expect a thank you really, but if one is given it is a good feeling to know a kind deed is appreciated. I never give to receive I just get sheer pleasure out of giving and making someone smile, selfish me eh LOL
Hmmm have I gone totally off topic here, sometimes I do waffle but the thing is, I always know what I mean even if others dont hahaha.
Thank you takes a bow teehee
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I never, ever forget kindness shown to me. The person that is kind to me, l would do anything for them and to the end of my days.
They are the people that will be there for you forever and above everything else.
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Do you think calling it âgratitudeâ comes over as a bit cheesey for Brit tastes? It reminds me of Pollyanna and the Glad Game!
Of course Iâm grateful to and thank people who help me out or are just there and make me happy 
But this gratitude, counting your blessings, mindfulness thing can feel a bit contrived to me, Iâm more a get on with life type than a naval gazer
Having said that, there is a little exercise I read about a long time ago that I do now and then if I start feeling a bit down
Before you go to sleep at night you remember six good things that happened to you in the day, they donât have to be major things, that first cup of coffee, sitting in the garden, a chat with a friend, cuddling the cat, a sneaky chocolate, watching the tide roll in, any old rubbish really
And then you have to think of six positive things about yourself, again, they donât have to be huge things, things like Iâve got a good sense of humour, cats like me, I make a mean sphag bol, my hair reaches down to my bottom, Iâve got nice nails, trivial, silly stuff as well as important things
And in the morning, before you get up, you think of six things youâre looking forward to in the day
I donât remember or bother with it usually, too busy, but it can give you a bit of a boost if youâre feeling flat
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As natural as a breath of fresh air. It does a body goodâŠ
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Its not really naval gazing, in my opinionâŠits about being aware within yourself, and working on keeping a balance of happiness and contentment going so you can get through stressful times, and hopefully support others. Getting on with life is fine in itself, but sometimes it flies by so quickly you donât notice.
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Yes I am grateful and show my appreciation.
I was taught to say thank you as a small child.
Every Christmas I would get post office set or a kiddies stationary , after Christmas I would write my thank you letters . I enjoyed doing itâŠstill do.
I am thankful and show appreciation.
Nobody wants to be taken for granted .
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Assuming that by and large we tend to do unto others as we would have done unto ourselves, it stands to reason that if this is a positive thing with a good affirmation, then it reflects on our own self esteem. It came up recently jow positive thought may well have healing properties. Ergo showing gratitude to others may well be physically beneficial to oneself.
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To me, thereâs at least two sides to gratitude. One side is when we affirm it to ourselves and one is when we show it to others. I donât like to be forced into anything so letâs say I was forced to thank my boss every day for giving me a job or I would get fired, I wouldnât feel gratitude, I would feel resentment.
Showing gratitude in that instance may look like appreciation, but it wouldnât feel like gratitude. Feeling gratitude and going through the motions of appreciating someone for someone elseâs benefit doesnât feel like gratitude to me. It may still be necesary, depending on the situation, but I wouldnât call it gratitude.
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Because itâs not, in precisely the same way that being coerced or feeling duty bound to say âI love youâ to someone does not imply you love them.
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Actually it does imply you love them. . . to them or maybe others seeing it. It doesnât mean you really feel love for them.
But yes, your analogy is spot on.
My OP was about the feeling of gratitude, not necessarily what it might look like to others.
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Weâre on the same page with this.
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I know this is a little off topic but here goesâŠ
I went to a school reunion about 3 and a bit years ago.
A WhatsApp chat group was set up beforehand and one guy asked if I was going (before Iâd even joined the chat). Of course everyone started to joke and tease him asking him if he was going to propose to me and all sorts of stuff. His reply was âI wanted to see her particularly because she was always really kind to meâ. He was one of those kids who had been brought up by his single father and so always looked a bit unkempt and even grubby and he wasnât gifted at anything either. He was an easy target and so I always made a beeline for him whenever we would do games or folk dancing that required partnering up. I knew he would be left til last otherwise and so I was happy to do it.
He had obviously always remembered that and that made me feel very glowy inside.
The same Reunion evening I met up with Belinda who had come to my parentsâ house for tea when we were in about 3rd grade. We were all taking part in a big production of Oliver! that week and the teachers had asked for help to look after and feed some of those pupils who lived further away. My Mum offered being the lovely person she was and my close friend Meinir and the not so close Belinda came for tea on the Wednesday. When my Mum found out that Belindaâs younger sister had been eating a packed lunch provided by the school while she waited for the performance to start that evening she was beside herself and promptly told Belinda to invite her sister to tea the next evening. We werenât a well off family but my Mum always fed us well with great home cooked meals and there was always a baked treat after.
Belinda told me that Reunion night that she had never forgotten my Mumâs kindness towards her and her sister and she had looked forward to meeting me that night in order to tell me so.
That same evening the aforementioned Meinir, whose son is one of Aidanâs (my son) best friends since high school, also made a point of telling me that her son, who had recently broken up with his girlfriend of 3 years had told her how kind and caring Aidan had been to him during his heartbreak. Aidan would call at his flat to seem him some evenings and once or twice took a gift of a McDonaldâs fries with him to cheer his friend up!
I remember being really touched by their words and was bursting with pride inside that the kindness that had been instilled in me growing up was alive and well in my own children 
More on topicâŠ
I always say âPlease can/may IâŠâ and ALWAYS thank people for the slightest thing.
My favourite reply to being thanked is âYouâre very welcomeâ
Thank you and good night!
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Same here, Tabs. 
Not always a good to over think everything.
It would often do us more good to learn to accept instead.
By the way, thank you for creating this thread Butterscotch. 
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Does anyone really need to PRACTICE gratitude?
Isnât saying thankyou just good manners, or expressing what you feel?
Anyway, there are thousands of things to appreciate and be grateful for, that are nothing to do with another human being. For an example, I am grateful I have my eyes to see a spell binding sunset. We all appreciate different things in life.
And is there a difference between being appreciative, and being grateful?
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Hi
Yes, always say thank you with a smile.
If they are doing a boring job on minimum wage they need a bit of cheering up
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Please, please - a little bit of gratitude to waiters and waitresses 
A tip is nice but a smile and a thank you go a long way too
Itâs hard, busy work, they get the flak both ways from both the kitchen and the customers and they donât get paid a lot
Yet some people are really rude and ignorant in the way they ignore them and treat them like servants and inferiors
The people I went out with on a business lunch yesterday were a prime example, just ruddy rude!
They were paying and werenât even going to tip so I showed them up by saying âIâll take care of the tip, shall I?â and put a generous one on the table
They were supposed to be wining and dining me so didnât want to look small, so they matched it!
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I do tip for good service but I donât think it should be automatic otherwise you end up like America where waiters etc expect a tip for doing their job however surly or badly done that is .
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