124 Best Gratitude Quotes and Sayings to Inspire an Attitude of Gratitude
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An attitude of gratitude. This is not only a great rhyme but a great way to live.
You should always be grateful for the things you have. Thankful for everything – big and small – that fill your life and make it special.
With the hustle and bustle of modern-day life, too many people get it backward. They decide they will be grateful when they get a promotion, a new job, a home, a new car, a raise, gifts, or other tangible things from people they know.
But this is backward. If you want to gain more success and/or more happiness, then the first step is to be grateful for the many things you have. Only after you build an “attitude of gratitude” can you begin to grow (and build on) your happiness or achieve a measurable level of success (that does not feel empty).
This large collection of gratitude quotes is meant to share that idea with us. There are many recurring themes here – from gratitude and mindfulness to gratitude as a key to happiness and to true gratitude being a springboard to both success and character.
Gratitude means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. But one thing is always the same in these quotes on gratitude – it is always very important.
From time-to-time, in this inspirational gratitude quotes post, I will chime in with a few of my own ideas about the recurring themes of gratitude and some links where you can learn and see more inspiring quotes.
But for now, let’s enjoy the first batch of quotes and sayings to inspire gratitude.
Sidebar: If you’d like to learn more about building a daily gratitude
Quotes about Gratitude
“It’s not happiness that brings us gratitude. It’s gratitude that brings us happiness.” — Anonymous
“Today, I choose to live with gratitude for the love that fills my heart, the peace that rests within my spirit, and the voice of hope that says all things are possible.”— Anonymous
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues but the parent of all others.”— Cicero
“I was complaining that I had no shoes till I met a man who had no feet.”— Confucius
“Gratitude opens the door to the power, the wisdom, the creativity of the universe. You open the door through gratitude.”— Deepak Chopra
“Appreciation is a wonderful thing: It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”— Voltaire
“An attitude of gratitude brings great things.”— Yogi Bhajan
“Gratitude; my cup overfloweth.”— Anonymous
“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
“Don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines.”— Leroy Satchel Paige
“It is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.”— Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.”— David Steindl-Rast
“We can choose to be grateful no matter what.”— Dieter F. Uchtdorf
“Entitlement is such a cancer because it is void of gratitude.”— Adam Smith
Short Gratitude Quotes
Someone once said, “Simplicity” is the key to brilliance.”
The following set of inspiring quotes of gratitude back up that idea. They are short, to the point, and contain no fluff when it comes to why gratitude is essential.
The quotes are short, so I won’t belabor the point and let you dig right into the next section of quotes on gratitude.
“If you want to find happiness, find gratitude.”— Steve Maraboli
“Enough’ is a feast.”— Buddhist proverb
“Act with kindness, but do not expect gratitude.”— Confucius
“Every blessing ignored becomes a curse.”— Paulo Coelho
“Find the good and praise it.”— Alex Haley
“Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.”— Confucius
“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.”— Aesop
“Gratitude changes everything.”— Anonymous
“Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.”— Aesop
“Happiness is itself a kind of gratitude.”— Anonymous
“Humor is mankind’s greatest blessing.”— Mark Twain
“May the gratitude in my heart kiss all the universe.”— Hafiz
“May you wake with gratitude.”— Anonymous
Hope has a good memory, gratitude a bad one.”— Baltasar Gracian
“My day begins and ends with gratitude.”— Louise Hay
“The essence of all beautiful art is gratitude.”— Friedrich Nietzsche
“The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see.”— Mary Davis
“The root of joy is gratefulness.”— David Steindl-Rast
“The struggle ends when gratitude begins.”— Neale Donald Walsch
“Things must be felt with the heart.”— Helen Keller
“Through the eyes of gratitude, everything is a miracle.”— Mary Davis
“What are you grateful for today?”— Anonymous
Daily Gratitude Quotes
The next section of gratitude quotes all makes a similar point. They are either about the importance of experiencing gratitude every single day or about examples of things you should and could be grateful for on a daily basis.
Gratitude is basically a form of mindfulness. The power of gratitude is that you slow down and experience and enjoy all the good things that are already there.
Only when you can come to an understanding of the past and have gratitude for the present can you really set yourself up to achieve in the future.
If you want to learn more about mindfulness and how it relates to gratitude, I recommend you check out this complete guide to mindfulness below.
You may be wondering how you can effectively practice gratitude on a daily basis. Running around like Ebenezer Scrooge the day after he has his visions of the past, present and future thanking everyone for everything may be refreshing at first, but it will surely get old fast; both for yourself and for others.
Gratitude, you see, is only sometimes about sharing your gratitude with others. More often, it can be an internal thing. The daily practice of gratitude usually involves taking a small bit of time and thinking about all the things you are grateful for.
What matters in your life? What things are going well? In many ways, gratitude is like prayer. In fact, if you pray every day, I would say that IS a form of daily gratitude.
As an alternative to (or addition to) praying to a higher power, many people like to express their gratitude in writing. This gives the writer the chance to review and reflect on their thoughts on a later day.
If you are interested in this type of daily gratitude: Check out this list of the best gratitude journals and this article which has gratitude journal prompts.
“The way to develop the best that is in a person is by appreciation and encouragement.”— Charles Schwab
“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”— Robert Brault
“The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.”— Dalai Lama
“There are always flowers for those who want to see them.” — Henri Matisse
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns or rejoice because thorns have roses.”— Alphonse Karr
“There is always something to be grateful for.”— Anonymous
“A sense of blessedness comes from a change of heart, not from more blessings.”— Mason Cooley
“This a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before.”— Maya Angelou
“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.”— Cynthia Ozick
“We must never forget the importance of gratitude.”— Anonymous
“Three meals plus bedtime make four sure blessings a day.”— Mason Cooley
“When a person doesn’t have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity.”— Elie Wiesel
When a person doesn’t have gratitude, something is missing in his or her humanity.”— Elie Wiesel
“The best way to pay for a lovely moment is to enjoy it.”— Richard Bach
“When you are grateful, fear disappears, and abundance appears.”— Tony Robbins
“Stop now. Enjoy the moment. It’s now or never.”— Maxime Lagacé
“There is so much to be grateful for, just open your eyes.”— Anonymous
Express Gratitude Quotes
Saying “express your gratitude daily” is easy enough, but it still leaves many people a bit unsure how to do it.
Many people enjoy structure and clear instruction in their lives. I know I do!
That is where gratitude journal prompts come in handy. These are simply ideas of WHAT you can write about on a day-to-day basis. Some gratitude journals come with some prompts. Others are just blank notebooks for your thoughts.
But any good collection of self-reflection questions can help you on a day-to-day basis to find things you want to write about in any gratitude journal to help you grow.
Below is a (100% free) collection of 120 gratitude journal prompts. That can help you express your gratitude in day-to-day gratitude journaling.
Gratitude Journal Prompts
Sidebar:
Now let’s get back to the quotes on gratitude…
“Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation, sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it.”— Ralph Marston
“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”— Maya Angelou
“Wear gratitude like a cloak, and it will feed every corner of your life.”— Rumi
Wear gratitude like a cloak, and it will feed every corner of your life.”— Rumi
“Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart.”— Lucius Annaeus Seneca
“What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude.”— Brené Brown
“Giving is an expression of gratitude for our blessings.”— Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen
“Walk as if you are kissing the earth with your feet.”— Thich Nhat Hanh
“Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.”— Randy Rausch
“It’s a sign of mediocrity when you demonstrate gratitude with moderation.”— Roberto Benigni
“Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy.”— Jacques Maritain
Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.”— Zig Ziglar
“Silent gratitude isn’t very much use to anyone.”— Gertrude Stein
“The highest tribute to the dead is not grief but gratitude.”— Thornton Wilder
“The smallest act of kindness is worth than the grandest intention.”— Oscar Wilde
“The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated.”— William James
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”— William Arthur Ward
Inspirational Quotes About Gratitude
To some extent, all quotes about gratitude are inspirational.
The concept of expressing daily gratitude itself is an optimistic one. In fact, the whole concept of gratitude has a bit of yin and yang to it. Positive and happy people practice gratitude, and people who practice gratitude are both positive and happy. Sometimes it is hard to tell which comes first.
Regardless these quotes should be a bit inspirational, and perhaps inspire you to be more positive in your life.
If happiness is a major goal in your life, you should be specifically interested in these inspirational gratitude quotes since almost all people who claim to be happy also express that they follow a daily gratitude regimen.
Check out the 31 rules of happiness link below. Each entry has been backed up by real scientific/psychological experiments. (not some flashy “idea” on what it takes for happiness).
“Gratitude is a duty which ought to be paid, but which none have a right to expect.”— Jean-Jacques Rousseau
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”— Epicurus
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.”— Melody Beattie
“When gratitude becomes an essential foundation in our lives, miracles start to appear everywhere.”— Emmanuel Dagher
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”— Albert Einstein
“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not but rejoices for those which he has.”— Epictetus
“Gratitude is a powerful process for shifting your energy and bringing more of what you want into your life. Be grateful for what you already have, and you will attract more good things.”— Rhonda Byrne
“The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.”— Seneca
“Gratitude is the sweetest thing in a seeker’s life – in all human life. If there is gratitude in your heart, then there will be tremendous sweetness in your eyes.”— Sri Chinmoy
“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing.”— Seneca
“When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out, and the tide of love rushes in.”— Kristin Armstrong
“No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.”— Alfred North Whitehead
“Gratitude is one of the most medicinal emotions we can feel. It elevates our moods and fills us with joy.”— Sara Avant Stover
“Gratitude doesn’t change the scenery. It merely washes clean the glass you look through so you can clearly see the colors.”— Richelle E. Goodrich
“Gratitude unlocks all that’s blocking us from really feeling truthful, really feeling authentic and vulnerable and happy.”— Gabrielle Bernstein
Quotes on Being Thankful
What is the difference between thankfulness and gratitude? It is a fine line. Many people use these two terms interchangeably, but they are not the same thing.
Thankfulness is:
- Often a response to a specific act
- Often an automatic response to a specific kind gesture
- Often a fleeting feeling. You will not remember the guy who opened a door for you a year from now
- Easy to share. It is not hard to say “thank you” to someone who goes out of their way to help you
- Sometimes it means little because society has conditioned us to be polite, people often say thank you without even really feeling thankful
- Can also come with a feeling of true gratitude
Gratitude is:
- A feeling of thankfulness, and a pleasant feeling from within, with or without a specifically associated act. For example, you can have gratitude for a beautiful day or gratitude for the sweet smell from a flower
- Gratitude can come from things that happen now or things that happened in the past
- You can feel gratitude for things or places that help to put you in a position to achieve
- You can even feel gratitude for bad actions. Your boss acting like a jerk caused you to quit, but you are grateful for his actions because that move led you to the perfect job you love
- Most often, however, gratitude comes for those who have helped and guided you throughout your life
- Gratitude is a deep feeling that comes from your heart. It is often for a cumulation of good acts. Not a single event
- Feeling of gratitude last for a long time. When you are thankful for someone holding a door open for you, the feeling is gone quickly. But if you are truly grateful for someone going far out of their way to help you, you may feel that gratitude for years
- Gratitude is a sense of being and a way of life for some people
Thankfulness can be a first step, and with time grow to gratitude - When you express gratitude, sometimes it can be without words. Gratitude is from your heart and guides your actions
The Science Behind Gratitude
The benefits you can find when you practice gratitude in your everyday lives are almost endless. When you practice gratitude, you are giving yourself the time you need to reflect on some of the more positive emotions in your life.
In doing so, you will feel much more alive. You will sleep better, be able to better express your feelings and emotions, and you will be able to show more kindness to yourself and others.
The relationships we foster are just one of the determining factors when it comes to gauging our happiness. So, as we continue to build gratitude, we need to be more aware and have a greater sense of others around us as well. We can even include others in these gratitude expressions too!
Get Real and Mix It Up
When you can get excited about all the benefits you can experience from practicing gratitude, it gives you that push you need in the right direction to start making positive changes in your life.
While developing new habits, practicing mindfulness, and being grateful, we need to keep our momentum going so we can reach further and achieve each of our goals.
Plan for whatever might get in your way and never limit yourself.
Now that we understand the difference between thankfulness and gratitude, we can move on to these final quotes on thankfulness.
Before we jump into these quotes, however, you might want to learn a few things about thankfulness and how it can help you achieve greater things.
This post (linked below) shows you how to use a few simple “Thank You” cards to get ahead in business. It explains how a little bit of thoughtfulness can reap some great rewards. Check it out: How Thank You Cards Can Strengthen Business Relationships
“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”— Gilbert K. Chesterton
“No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.”— James Allen
‘Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding.”— Alice Walker
“If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.”— Frank A. Clark
“Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.”— Buddha
“Nothing new can come into your life unless you are grateful for what you already have.”— Michael Bernhard
“If you have lived, take thankfully the past.”— John Dryden
“If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share.”— W. Clement Stone
“Be grateful for what you have and work hard for what you don’t have.”— Anonymous
“So much has been given to me; I have no time to ponder over that which has been denied.”— Helen Keller
Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”— William Arthur Ward
“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was “thank you,” that would suffice.”— Meister Eckhart
“Learn to be thankful for what you already have, while you pursue all that you want.”— Jim Rohn
“We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.”— John F. Kennedy
“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.”— Henri Frederic Amiel
Attitude of Gratitude Quotes
We started this quotes post by mentioning the importance of having an “Attitude of Gratitude.” It seems a fitting place to end this post too.
The final quotes here are about having that all-important attitude of gratitude in life, your actions, and your character. An attitude of gratitude is one that is proactive and seeks the feeling of gratitude for all the small things in life, all the time.
Below is our final set of gratitude quotes.
“Our favorite attitude should be gratitude.”— Zig Ziglar
“A moment of gratitude makes a difference in your attitude.”— Bruce Wilkinson
“None is more impoverished than the one who has no gratitude. Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves and spend without fear of bankruptcy.”— Fred De Witt Van Amburgh
In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.”— Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”— Marcel Proust
“At times, our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”— Albert Schweitzer
“Hardship is a blessing when it spurs effort and development; ease is a curse when it increases complacency and self-indulgence.”— Muso Kokushi
“The real gift of gratitude is that the more grateful you are, the more present you become.”— Robert Holden
Develop an attitude of gratitude, and give thanks for everything that happens to you, knowing that every step forward is a step toward achieving something bigger and better than your current situation.”— Brian Tracy
A Final Word on Gratitude Quotes
Well, that is it for gratitude quotes. I hope you enjoyed this list. Maybe found a few good links and hopefully got forged some ideas of your own to perhaps start a daily gratitude habit.
If you enjoyed this collection of quotes. I would like to recommend you to a few more you may enjoy. All done in the same style, with similar picture quotes spaced throughout.
Well, that’s it. I hope you enjoyed these quotes on gratitude, and maybe learned something about daily gratitude and how it can help you become happier, more content, and more successful.
If you have your own favorite gratitude quote or want to share an experience of gratitude, I would love it if you shared in the comments below.
As always, if you enjoyed these gratitude picture quotes, please share them on your favorite social media platform.
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