Gratefulness Quotes
“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.”
-David O. McKay
“In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy.”
-Brother David Steindl-Rast
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”
-William Arthur Ward
“Be thankful for what you have, and you will end up having more. But if you concentrate on what you don’t have, you’ll never, ever have enough.”
-Oprah Winfrey
“Swift gratitude is the sweetest; if it delays, all gratitude is empty and unworthy of the name.”
-Greek Proverb
“A thankful person is thankful under all circumstances. A complaining soul complains even in paradise.”
-Baha’u’llah
“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
“The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.”
-Eric Hoffer
“Gratitude for the present moment and the fullness of life now is the true prosperity.”
-Eckhart Tolle
“The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated.”
-William James
“The single greatest thing you can do to change your life today would be to start being grateful for what you have right now.”
-Oprah Winfrey
“It is not happiness that makes us grateful. It’s gratefulness that makes us happy.”
– Brother David Steindl-Rast
“We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count.”
-Neal A. Maxwell
“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.”
—William Arthur Ward
“As I express my gratitude, I become more deeply aware of it. And the greater my awareness, the greater my need to express it.”
-Brother David Steindl-Rast
“Gratefulness allows us to nurture a keener eye that no longer rushes past the small everyday moments that make up the larger part of our lives.”
-Guri Mehta
“The more grateful I am, the more beauty I see.”
-Mary Davis
“Gratitude is one of the strongest and most transformative states of being. It shifts your perspective from lack to abundance and allows you to focus on the good in your life, which in turn pulls more goodness into your reality.”
-Jen Sincero
“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”
-Thornton Wilder
“Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot.”
—Hansa Proverb
“If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul.”
—Harold Kushner
“When it comes to life the critical thing is whether you take things for granted or take them with gratitude.”
-G.K. Chesterton
“When you drink from the stream, remember the spring.”
-Chinese Proverb
“Gratitude is an antidote to negative emotions, a neutralizer of envy, hostility, worry, and irritation. It is savoring; it is not taking things for granted; it is present-oriented.”
-Sonja Lyubomirsky
“What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude.”
-Brene Brown
“I don’t have to chase extraordinary moments to find happiness – it’s right in front of me if I’m paying attention and practicing gratitude.”
-Brene Brown
“Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.”
-Aesop
“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.”
-Willie Nelson
“You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.”
-Sarah Breathnach
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more.”
-Melody Beattie
“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
“No amount of regret changes the past. No amount of anxiety changes the future. Any amount of gratitude changes the present.”
-Ann Voskamp
“Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is. ”
—Ernest Hemingway
“Joy is gratefulness unbound.”
-Joe Primo
“When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself.”
– Chief Tecumseh (Shawnee Nation)
“We’re a nation hungry for more joy: Because we’re starving from a lack of gratitude.”
-Brene Brown
“There is just as much beauty visible to us in the landscape as we are prepared to appreciate—not a grain more.”
–Henry David Thoreu
“Silent gratitude isn’t very much use to anyone.”
– Gertrude B. Stein
“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”
-Maya Angelou
“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.”
—Unknown
“Gratitude is a powerful catalyst for happiness. It’s the spark that lights a fire of joy in your soul.”
—Amy Collette
“In times of turmoil and danger, gratitude helps to steady and ground us. It brings us into presence, and our full presence is perhaps the best offering we can make to our world.”
-Joanna Macy
“It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.”
—David Steindl-Rast
“If you’re worried, and you can’t sleep;
Just count your blessings, instead of sheep;
And you’ll fall asleep, counting your blessings.”
-Bing Crosby
“When you are grateful, fear disappears and abundance appears.”
-Anthony Robbins
“Gratitude is the most exquisite form of courtesy.”
-Jacques Maritain
“A bit of fragrance clings to the hand that gives flowers.”
-Chinese Proverb
“Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”
-Cicero
“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”
-Thornton Wilder
“Give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.”
-Native American prayer
“No one who achieves success does so without the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.”
-Alfred North Whitehead
“Gratitude turns what we have into enough.”
-Anonymous
“Gratitude is riches. Complaint is poverty.”
-Doris Day
If you aren’t grateful for what you already have, what makes you think you would be happy with more.
-Roy T. Bennett
“Being unappreciative might mean we are simply not paying attention.”
-David Whyte
“Gratitude as a discipline involves a conscious choice. I can choose to be grateful even when my emotions and feelings are still steeped in hurt and resentment.”
-Henri Nouwen
“It’s a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.”
-Germany Kent
“Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”
—Robert Brault
“Start each day with a positive thought and a grateful heart.”
—Roy T. Bennett
“Appreciation…acknowledges the presence of good wherever you shine the light of your thankful thoughts.”
—Alan Cohen
“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 lit the flame within us.”
—Albert Schweitzer
“Gratitude is the closest thing to beauty manifested in an emotion.”
-Mindy Kaling
“The single greatest thing you can do to change your life today would be to start being grateful for what you have right now.”
-Oprah Winfrey
“Being thankful is not always experienced as a natural state of existence, we must work at it, akin to a type of strength training for the heart.”
—Larissa Gomez
How can you use Quotes?
- Start a discussion: Quotes can start a discussion about a character trait at the beginning of a meeting or the dinner table. You can ask questions about what it means, how they have seen the trait demonstrated in their own lives, or how they can develop it themselves.
- Provide a model: Quotes can provide a model of good character. When you read a quote from a famous person or historical figure, you show that people they admire also value the same character traits.
- Use quotes as writing/journal prompts: Ask them to write a short essay about a quote to help them think more deeply about its implications for their lives.
- Post quotes: You can post quotes where they will be seen/heard often – classroom, breakroom, lobby, dining room, email signatures, video bulletin boards, morning announcements, social media, etc.
- Read quotes aloud: You can read quotes aloud to your children during mealtimes, bedtime, or any other time you spend together.
- Make it fun: You can make it even more fun by incorporating games, activities, or crafts. Let children decorate signs with the quotes to hang in the classroom or a bedroom door. Record children saying it and post it on social media.