20 Inspirational Quotes to Inspire a Practice of Gratitude

On Thanksgiving Day, it’s only natural that I should talk about how gratitude has changed my life and share with you some inspirational quotes to inspire a practice of gratitude.

Although this last year, I’ve quit hosting the Gratitude Circle and haven’t been able to commit to my #EverydayGratitude posts, gratitude continues to be the fuel of my life. I’ve been going through my old posts  and realized that my second post 9 years ago was on gratitude.  It is a theme that continues to resurface over and over again in my mind and in my writings.

Over the past several years of learning to live a life focused on the things most important to me, I’ve often relied upon an attitude and practice of gratitude  see me through. I have begun to recognize the truly life-changing effects of gratitude.

An Attitude and Practice of Gratitude

• keeps me from comparison
• helps me to forgive
• sees me through difficult times
• keeps me joyful
• keeps me mindful of the abundance of my blessings
• helps me to trust
• impacts how I spend money
• enables me to be more generous
• gives me peace of mind
• helps me be more mindful.

20 Inspirational Quotes to Inspire a Practice of Gratitude

“We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count.” ~Neal A. Maxwell

“As each day comes to us refreshed and anew, so does my gratitude renew itself daily. The breaking of the sun over the horizon is my grateful heart dawning upon a blessed world. ” ~Adabella Radici

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

“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

“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” ~Marcel Proust

“Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty.” ~Doris Day

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” ~Marcus Tullius Cicero

“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

“Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot.” ~The Hausa of Nigeria

“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

“Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.” ~Robert Brault

“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.” ~Denis Waitley

“Some people grumble that roses have thorns; I am grateful that thorns have roses.” ~Alphonse Karr

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” ~Oprah Winfrey

“If the only prayer you say in your life is thank you, that would suffice.” ~Meister Eckhart

“Things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out.” ~John Wooden

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.” ~John F. Kennedy

“Gratitude for the seemingly insignificant—a seed—this plants the giant miracle.” ~Ann Voskamp

“He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” ~Epictetus

“Two kinds of gratitude: The sudden kind we feel for what we take; the larger kind we feel for what we give.” ~Edwin Arlington Robinson

“Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” ~W.T. Purkiser

Image of rustic Thanksgiving background via Shutterstock