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Fostering gratitude

Different Ways to Foster Gratitude

There are several different ways that we can help to foster gratitude. One of these you may have tried in the introduction to this course, the ‘3 Good Things in Life’ activity. Another simple way to foster gratitude is to do a gratitude exercise where you write down 5 things that you’re grateful for. You may like to use the pdf to help you. The same information is also available in the alternative version box.

Gratitude list: (210.25kB)

Some More Activities to Try

As well as these activities there are some others you could try, these include:

Grateful Contemplation

This exercise is to think or write about things you are grateful for but in a more global context and may be more of a one-off exercise or done now and then e.g. being grateful for fresh running water.

Behavioural Expression

This exercise asks the individual to write a letter of gratitude to someone that you have yet to express your gratefulness to and then deliver it to them.

Video

The TED talk below asks you to think about nature and the beauty that is hidden within it, considering how it can cultivate an open heart, appreciation and gratitude.

Important:

You might want to make notes at this point. These may help you remember things, work out what you want or see how much you’ve changed if you read them again in a few years’ time.