35 Thankfulness Quotes To Brighten Your Day

In the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives, it’s often hard to find time to focus on the positive things. We’re so busy checking off items on our to-do lists that we forget to take a step back and appreciate all the good in our lives. This can lead to feelings of stress and overwhelm. One way to combat this is by practicing thankfulness. Countless studies show the benefits of gratitude, including increased happiness, better sleep, and improved relationships.
Practicing gratitude is something that can and should be done all year long. It’s so easy to feel overwhelmed by life’s many challenges that it can be challenging to take a moment to express your gratitude for the good things in life. There never seem to be enough hours in the day for all of your responsibilities, including family and friends, and work and cooking dinner and laundry (so much laundry!) — the list may be intimidating.
However, taking a step back to focus on what you’re thankful for can help shift your perspective and make all of the craziness feel a little more manageable. You’ll be amazed at how quickly your attitude will improve. Experts believe gratitude may help strengthen your relationships, boost your mood, even reduce blood pressure and help keep you from getting sick. So we think it’s well worth investing a few minutes each day to think about how grateful you are.
To help get you started on your journey of practicing gratitude, we’ve rounded up 35 thankful quotes. These words of wisdom are perfect for sharing with loved ones or posting as daily reminders. You could even use them as part of your Thanksgiving table decorations! No matter how you choose to incorporate them into your life, we hope these thankful quotes inspire you to reflect on your life’s good things.
From feeling thankful for the small things in life to be grateful for what you have, no matter how big or small, these thankful quotes will inspire you to change your mindset and see the glass half full.
- “Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” – Melody Beattie
- “Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” – William Arthur Ward
- “If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough.” – Meister Eckhart
- “Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.” – Henri Frederic Amiel
- “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all others.” – Cicero
- “I am what I am, I’m doing very well in my life, and I’m thankful to God for that.” – LL Cool J
- “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” – Melody Beattie
- “He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.” – Epictetus
- “If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.” – Frank A. Clark
- “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” – Thornton Wilder
- “The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.” – Michel de Montaigne
- “I’m thankful for my struggle because without it I wouldn’t have stumbled across my strength.” – Unknown
- “When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive—to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” – Marcus Aurelius
- “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” – Oprah Winfrey
- “I have a lot to be thankful for. I am healthy, happy, and I am loved.” – Reba McEntire
- “Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions. The more you express gratitude for what you have, the more likely you will have even more to express gratitude for.” – Zig Ziglar
- “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
- “Gratitude is the wine for our souls. Go on. Get drunk.” – Rumi
- “It isn’t what you have in your pocket that makes you thankful, but what you have in your heart.” – Unknown
- “So much has been given to me; I have no time to ponder over that which has been denied.” – Helen Keller
- “Gratitude turns what we have into enough.” – Anonymous
- “In ordinary life, we hardly realize that we receive a great deal more than we give and that it is only with gratitude that life becomes rich.” – Dietrich Bonhoeffer
- “Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.” – Alphonse Karr
- “Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: It must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.” – William Faulkner
- “I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” – Gilbert K. Chesterton
- “For me, every hour is grace. And I feel gratitude in my heart each time I can meet someone and look at his or her smile.” – Elie Wiesel
- “Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul.” – Henry Ward Beecher
- “Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” – W.T. Purkiser
- “There is always something to be thankful for.” – Unknown
- “Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” – Marcel Proust
- “No one who achieves success does so without acknowledging the help of others. The wise and confident acknowledge this help with gratitude.” – Alfred North Whitehead
- “I am thankful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.” – Henry David Thoreau
- “Keep your eyes open to your mercies. The man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life.” – Robert Louis Stevenson
- “Gratitude is the single most important ingredient to living a successful and fulfilled life.” – Jack Canfield
- “We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” – Cynthia Ozick
What Are You Thankful For Today?
Whether you’re feeling down or simply need a reminder of the good in your life, taking a moment to think of what you’re grateful for can be uplifting.
What are you thankful for today?
When you take the time to really think about all the good in your life, it’s hard not to feel thankful. Be sure to express your gratitude for the things you’re thankful for today!