Gratitude is a practice

A person who wants to lose weight will eat right and exercise.

A person who wants to change careers will learn a new skill and find ways to practice it.

A person who wants to wake up earlier will buckle down and grunt through the first few days it takes to establish a habit.

I’ve heard gratitude describe like a feeling. The thing is: feelings are fleeting. They come and go as they please. We have a feeling of anger, eat some ice cream, then cool down. Gratitude shouldn’t work that way.

Gratitude is a practice.

It’s part of a something we do to be grateful, to have a sense of appreciation.

What are you grateful for on your physical body?

What are you grateful for in your immediate surroundings?

What are you grateful for in your past?

What are you grateful for in your hope for the future?

Answer these questions and you’ve started practicing. Rinse and repeat.