How Being Grateful and Thankful Can Help You Feel Happy

[Being grateful for the blessings in your life can help you be a happy mom. Discover how being grateful and thankful can help you enjoy the journey of motherhood.]

“I’m thankful for mommy snuggles.” were the words my daughter said as we snuggled and talked about the day before bedtime.

Sharing what we are grateful for has become a beautiful practice that not only brings us joy but brings us closer together.

[Please Note: This post may contain affiliate links. This means that Soul Care Mom may receive a small commission if you click through and make a purchase, at no additional cost to you. Please see Disclaimers for more information.]

Gratitude and Happiness

When we look for things to be thankful for we are able to more easily find things in our lives to be thankful for.

Practicing gratitude as a mom can help you to notice all of the blessings in your life as well as help you feel happy as a mom.

What are the Benefits of Being Grateful and Thankful?

Often the beauty and joy of our life experiences get overlooked so that we can deal with the “problems” that arise. The expression, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, comes to mind.

The beauty is there, but it just gets overshadowed. So, it is our job to nourish the beauty and joy and help bring it back to the forefront of our attention, and in doing so bring more balance into our life. 

This might mean stepping away from media for many of us, and re-connecting with our family and friends in meaningful ways.

This may mean getting our into nature more often and enjoying the warmth of the sun on our skin, the beauty of the blossoming flower, the stillness of a tree.

How to Create a Gratitude Practice

A gratitude practice is simply creating more opportunities to stop and be thankful for the gifts in your life. 

Take time to look around and find things in your current life situation that you can be grateful for. Even in the most challenging times we can find things to be grateful for. Even when things seem most bleak, we can be grateful for the very breath we are taking.

Create opportunities throughout your day to practice looking for things to be grateful for. 

Gratitude Exercises

1. Pause – to remind you to pause and give thanks various times throughout the day. You may use things you do daily to become your cues such as brushing your teeth, taking a shower, washing dishes, etc.

Or you may like to place some notes around your home or office as reminders. Over time noticing things to be grateful for throughout your day will become second nature. 

2. Meditate – taking time to turn inward and nurture your soul can be an amazing way to notice the gifts in your life.

3. Journal – this can be very simple. At the end of each day, jot down 3-5 things that you are grateful for today. Things that brought a smile to your face. Beautiful interactions or experiences you had.

Practicing Gratitude with kids

Here are some ideas for ways to practice gratitude with your kids:

1. Let Your Kids Know How Grateful You are for Them – When we genuinely express our gratefulness to our kids for the things they do and for the joy that they bring to our lives, they will feel loved and cherished and will want to spread the love as well.

Kids often to “do as we do” – so when we show gratitude throughout the day, they will most likely follow our lead. 

2. Give Thanks Before Meals – go around the table and allow everyone to name something that you are thankful for before each meal.

3. Create a Gratitude Jar – Create a simple but meaningful jar or box with your kids.

Write down something that you are grateful for on a slip of paper and put it into your gratitude jar. If your children are young, you might help them write down what they are grateful for or get out the crayons and draw pictures!

For more gratitude and self care activities for kids check out these other gratitude activities you can do with your children.

Get The Power of Self Care for Children Ebook a parent’s guide to raising emotionally healthy and resilient children through self care.

Thankful Everyday

1. Send a thank you note or text to someone you love. 

2. Show yourself genuine appreciation for the amazing unique person that you are and all that you bring to the world.

3. Be sure to let your loved ones know how much you love and appreciate them. 

4. Say thank you to the people you interact with. Maybe the cashier at the grocery store, or the delivery person.– Volunteer, donate or give back to your community in some way.

5. Share a smile with others you encounter during your day. You never know how that might just make their day. 

Practicing self care can help you feel calm and happy as a mom. Create a beautiful self care and gratitude practice with this Daily Self Care Journal Bundle with Gratitude, Time Tracking, and Self Care Journal Pages!

Save this Soul Care Goodness for Later!