
How to Cultivate Gratitude
Start a daily practice

- Keep a journal. Write down one or a few things you’re grateful for first thing when you wake up or last thing at the end of each day.
- Make it a group effort. Keeping up a habit is easier when you have friends to keep you accountable, and gratitude is contagious! Find a few friends to join your practice and share what you’re thankful for each day with them, either in a group text, phone call, or video chat.
- Integrate with an existing habit. Do you go for a walk every morning? Meditate? Work out? Tack gratitude onto whatever current daily habit you have—call a gratitude buddy during your walk, write it down after meditating, whatever works with your existing schedule.
Recount the year

- What was the best thing that happened this month?
- What was the hardest thing that happened—and what got you through it?
- Are there any special moments that stand out that you want to remember?
Make it sensory
Use your senses to get in touch with your gratitude:- Sight: What sights invoke gratitude?
- Sound: What can you hear that makes you feel grateful?
- Touch: Touch has been a rare commodity this year—what does that mean for you?
- Taste: Is there a particular food that’s meaningful to you in 2020?
- Smell: Scent is a strong trigger for memory—what smell makes you think of 2020?