Gratitude has been proven time and time again to be a super important part of happiness, positivity, goal achievement, and general life quality. It’s not the easiest thing to master though. Being grateful when life isn’t going your way is hard! That’s why, like any new habit or challenge, setting goals is helpful. Gratitude goals can help you practice gratitude more often and turn it into a daily habit!
If you want to practice gratitude and live a more fulfilling life, here are the steps you can take to set gratitude goals and some example goals for you to set. Keep reading!
Why you should set gratitude goals
Like any change to your current lifestyle, it can be hard to stay consistent. When you are trying to change your mindset and engage in a new habit every day it’s easy to do it for a few days and then stop.
Having a specific goal to work towards gives you a path to follow. You know what the outcome is and you know how to get there!
There’s a big difference between saying, “I will be more grateful” versus, “I will say a positive affirmation every morning.”
Having a specific goal, even when it comes to something like gratitude, helps you stay on track and actually make the changes you want to make!
10 gratitude goals to set
Need some ideas for what gratitude goals to set? I got you! When you start something new (like a gratitude practice) it can be overwhelming and confusing.
What is a good goal? What is worth spending my time on? How does this help me create a gratitude practice?!
The cool thing about goals AND gratitude is that there isn’t a right or wrong way to do things. No one can tell you your version of being grateful is wrong if it works for you!
So here are a few gratitude goal ideas to get you started.
1- Start your day with a positive statement
Whether you like affirmations, quotes, or any other life mottos – starting your day with positivity sets you up for success. This goal is easy to measure because you can tick it off your habit tracker!
Examples of positive statements:
- I am grateful for waking up today
- The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see
- When you focus on the good the good gets better
- Focus on the step in front of you, not the whole staircase
Use whatever kind of phrases that make you feel full of life, love, and happiness!
2- Help someone who needs it
Helping others cultivates gratitude! You could make this a weekly goal where you strive to do someone helpful once a week. Whatever you feel is attainable.
Some ways you could help someone else:
- Volunteer
- Donate clothing
- Help a senior carry groceries to their car
- Walk your neighbor’s dog
- Buy a meal for someone who is homeless
3- Make a gratitude list
Part of practicing gratitude is actually being grateful for things! Sometimes you don’t realize how many things you are grateful for until you sit down and list them out. Life gets away from us!
You could set a goal of writing a big long gratitude list for the end of the week or the month. Or you could make it a goal to add to your gratitude list on a regular basis. Write 5 things now and then 5 more things next week. See how long you can make your list!
4- Read a book
I always love a good reading goal! If you want to grow your gratitude practice and skills you might want to learn more about it!
There are so many amazing books out there about gratitude, mindset, happiness, and fulfillment. Here are a few suggestions:
- Think Like A Monk By Jay Shetty
- Wake Up Grateful by Kristi Nelson
- The Happiness Equation by Neil Pasricha
5- Gratitude journaling
Journaling is always a useful tool whether it’s for your gratitude practice or overall mental health.
Set a goal to write in your journal once a day! Start with just naming 2 or 3 things you are grateful for from the day.
Once journaling is more of a habit you can try journal prompts, free journaling, drawing, and much more!
6- Saying “I get to” instead of “I have to”
The words you use make a big difference in the way you see the world. Negativity breeds negativity. Making small word swaps can change your mindset!
Here’s an example: instead of saying, “I have to clean the house,” start saying, “I get to clean the house.” You might not be overly excited about doing chores but your outlook has changed by switching one word. Now you are grateful for the body that allows you to do your chores (even if you don’t really want to do the chores still).
To set this goal, practice changing the words you use once or twice a day. You could even write down the sentences in your journal for extra practice.
7- Declutter your house
We all have too much stuff! Be grateful for the things you have and acknowledge the things you have that you don’t need.
Give your clothes, books, household tools, and other unwanted items to someone who needs them and in turn, will be grateful for them.
You might think having more stuff will make you feel more grateful but that simply isn’t true. That kind of mindset will leave you feeling like you need more no matter what you have.
Allow yourself to be grateful for what you have and what you can give!
Set a decluttering goal for every few months! You could do one room at a time or the whole house – whatever works for you!
8- Say thank you more
Giving thanks is more than just a blanket “thank you” to anyone and everyone. Saying thank you is a great way to practice gratitude if you are doing it from the heart.
Thank people for specific actions and be thoughtful about it.
For example: say something like, “Thank you for helping me with my house project. Your knowledge in design made it so much better.”
Your gratitude goal could be thoughtfully thanking someone once a week.
9 – Appreciate nature
Get outside more and appreciate nature. With the world being so virtual now it’s harder and harder to get outside and be with nature. However, it should really be a priority for your health and gratitude practice.
Being in nature gives you a sense of gratitude for the world around you. It’s so magical and big. It’s something bigger than you and me!
Make your goal to get outside once a day. Or to go for a nature walk once a week. You could even join some goals together by taking your gratitude journal or book to the park once a week!
10- Write a letter
Finally, you can practice and extend gratitude to others (or yourself) in the form of a letter!
Writing letters is a thing of the past but everyone feels excited when they receive a handwritten letter.
Think of someone who did something for you or someone who you are just grateful to have around. Explain in detail everything you feel and think about the person and express your thanks and gratitude.
Send the person the letter you wrote! It will feel great for you and them.
You could set this goal for once a month or even once a year depending on how you feel about writing and sharing feelings.
Final thoughts on gratitude goals
Gratitude can benefit your life and your other goals. If you like to focus on being a little bit better every day then setting gratitude goals would be helpful for you!
It’s easy to set gratitude goals based on your overall goals in life. They can fit in easily to your daily routine and current habits.
Just focus on making one small change at a time and be GRATEFUL that you are given the opportunity in life to work on yourself.
What gratitude goal are you going to set?
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