The power of gratitude: How to practice it in 5 easy steps

If you are at least remotely interested in living joyfully while manifesting your deepest desires (like I do), you know that the power of gratitude is an inevitable part of this process.

Life never happens exactly how we want. Therefore, using the power of gratitude to create emotional stability and living with an open heart is the only way to enjoy this life.

Practicing gratitude gives us much more than we are often aware of.

Although we may be thinking, “What or who do I need in my life to be and feel the way I want?”

The question is, “Who do I need to become to attract the life that reflects that?”

Can you see the difference?

The opportunity or a person may be lost, but who you become as a result of striving for a better life – is something no one can take away from you.

Being attached to the outcome or expecting anything external to fulfill our desires is a gamble that may or may not work. The power of gratitude is about looking within and creating the world we want from the inside.

Because gratitude allows us to feel joy and love, we become more resilient in the face of adversity. 

Without further ado, let me share my gratitude roadmap I practice regularly. These are 5 steps (yes, in that order) that I highly encourage you to incorporate into your life and become in charge of how you feel every day.

Step #1 – Get your gratitude journal

Whether you want to get all fancy with your journal or stop by your nearest dollar tree, it doesn’t matter. Find your dedicated gratitude journal and use it specifically for this activity.

Some of the ideas on how to begin writing your gratitude statements are:

I am so happy and grateful for…

I am deeply grateful for…

The best thing that happened today was…

I am very thankful for…

This [name what it is] makes me feel extremely grateful because…

Thank you for…

I like to add things like, “My heart is bursting with joy because of all these beautiful things happening in my life.”

Step #2 – Write your gratitude story

The next step is to write everything you are grateful for that happened or all your goals and dreams you want to bring to fruition.

However, be aware that if you want to focus on your future goals, you must write them in the present tense as if they are already here.

By practicing gratitude, your brain releases dopamine and serotonin, which are feel-good chemicals. The better you feel, the less you live in lack while creating the energy of abundance.

Step #3 – Activate your emotional power of gratitude

The next step is to visualize things you already have or working to manifest in your life. This step is extremely important because it deepens your emotional connection to things or events you are grateful for and helps you open your heart.

Working with clients from all walks of life, one of the common barriers I see people facing when healing themselves is that they try to do it with their hearts closed.

Gratitude and visualization of things we feel grateful for is an excellent way to practice opening our hearts. Instead of feeling the emotions of guilt or shame, we feel more love and joy.

When your heart expands by feeling those positive emotions and your brain gets a healthy dose of dopamine and serotonin, you will begin creating new healthy neuropathways within your brain.

By reinforcing these new neural connections, you begin to feel the power of gratitude more often. Suddenly seeing the glass half full instead of half empty will become a natural way of life.

Step #4 – Re-read it every day to reinforce the power of gratitude

Every day, add one thing you are grateful for to your journal. Make an effort to re-read previous items on your list and simply say Thank you at the end.

I love this part of my gratitude roadmap because anytime I feel sad or defeated, I open my gratitude journal and read all those great things I have or am working towards having.

Mainly, it shifts my perspective from negative to positive. When we face tough challenges, it’s easy to get lost in darkness. Your gratitude journal is like a light you bring in and see the whole picture.

Step #5 – Walk, eat, sleep, talk, laugh, cry as if you already have it

Learn to live in the power of gratitude. Don’t only feel it in the morning when you open your journal. Learn to feel it throughout the day as well. Don’t only think it – feel it with all your heart.

If you need to, carry your gratitude journal with you at all times. Open it a few times a day and read through it.

Bring your palms together at your heart center, gently bow your head down and say thank you to anything that comes to mind.

Learn to breathe, eat, sleep, and even cry while holding gratitude in your heart. Don’t let the over usage of this word make you believe that it isn’t big enough to change your life.

Before you close this page and go on with your day, close your eyes and say one thing you are grateful for. Then, give it three thanks.