Improve Your Life with a Gratitude Practice for Moms

We have been given these precious lives to be parents of, and it’s a hard and sometimes thankless job. And, despite the temper tantrums and power struggles, we have a lot to be grateful for. Gratitude for moms is a practice, not a one-and-done thing to say. If we moms practice gratitude daily throughout the day, we are more likely to have better days and enjoy our families more. What exactly will improve as we are grateful?

Benefits of Gratitude for Moms

There are a lot of benefits of gratitude, but I want to touch on some benefits specifically for mothers.

More Patience

Even the best mom on the planet could stand to get more patience. Losing your patience comes with the territory of growing and guiding humans. But through the lens of gratitude, your patience will stick around a little longer. Being grateful that your child is growing as they should, testing boundaries, and learning how life works, can blunt the immediate feeling of irritability that they won’t comply with what you’re telling them to do.

Goals Are Set Out of Abundance Rather Than Lack

Have you set goals with a lack mentality? Some examples of lack-mentality goals are losing weight to feel better about yourself (not being enough), getting a promotion because you don’t like where you are in your career, or making more money to finally afford that car that everyone else has (a Tesla comes to mind). On the contrary, abundance goals come from a place of enoughness and gratitude. Some examples are losing weight to feel physically better, getting a promotion because you have worked hard in your career and feel ready for more responsibility, or making more money as an asset to what you already earn and have.

Better Perspective

Being grateful can lessen the “woe is me” attitude that can sneak up on you. As you count your blessings and genuinely start to feel thankful for them, the feeling of lack or irritability can lessen. Instead of your blood boiling over when your kid spills milk in the car – down in the black-hole areas of the car, of course – you can see the incident for what it is, just an accident. Your blood may totally still boil, just not over.

More Optimism

I’m not naturally optimistic, but being grateful for what I have and what God has given me sheds a silver lining on everything. If we are thankful for what we have, other things don’t seem so urgent. In turn, we have a more positive outlook on the future.

Creating a Gratitude Practice for Moms

Journal

Journaling can help reduce stress, improve mood, increase well-being, make decisions, process feelings, and see things objectively. We can certainly use some of these benefits as moms. I can confidently say that journaling has made a difference in my life.

Getting your thoughts on paper is cleansing, reassuring, and healing. Try to focus on the positive instead of the negative when journaling. For example, don’t say I am grateful for my job despite being stressful. Your mind will focus on the stress part. We want to focus on the good. I recommend journaling in the morning to start your day with intention. You can wake up five to ten minutes early and jot down the first things that come to mind.

Below this prompt list is a button to print your own page of questions to start your gratitude practice. Note: the last question on the printout is open-ended on purpose. You can choose from one of the questions below that aren’t on the sheet or add your own.

Gratitude Journal Prompts for Moms

• What is going to be great about today?
  Name things you are looking forward to, something different in your routine, planned self-care, someone you like and appreciate that you will get to see today – anything that makes this day out of your entire life worth living.
  
• What am I celebrating in my life?
  Did you join a book club, have dinner with your husband, or buy yourself something you’ve been wanting or needing? Is the season of the year your favorite?
  
• How has God blessed me? How is my life abundant?
  He gave you a child to love and nurture and delight in, which can be celebrated every day. Additionally, what talents, physical attributes, circumstances, and opportunities has he given you? What can you thank him for that he will provide that hasn’t happened yet? Take a moment to be grateful for community, health, food, shelter, and modern conveniences.
  
• What are five small things in my life I can be grateful for?
  Ex: coffee, a comfy bed, food in your refrigerator, clean clothes, and a child who can tie their own shoes. Think about things that you might take for granted, like only being thankful for electricity when it comes back on from being off for a while or for the ability to walk when you sprain your ankle.
  
• How are my circumstances working FOR me?
  Did the promotion you ended up not getting become too stressful or resolved? Did the car accident lead to a more reliable car or help you drive more carefully? Did the in-laws who needed to stay with you for a while help you become more patient and understanding?
  
• Who is someone that has always been there for me, and why am I thankful for them?
  It can be a childhood friend, your parents, your husband, or someone you look up to. Perhaps they always listen when you need an ear, or they brought you a meal after you had a baby. Focus on an individual and what qualities or things they did that you’re grateful for.
  
• What amazing things do you have now that you didn’t have five years ago? Ten years ago?
  Your kids, a house, a better job, a car, health, you’re wiser, better style, a dream vacation – it can be anything. Each time you answer this question, your brain should recall new things, and that can help you see how much progress you’ve made over the years.
  
• What is a financial win in the past few years that you can celebrate?
  Consolidating debt, refinancing, learning to spend less, savings, putting your money toward a rejuvenating trip or experience, starting to tithe, or helping friends or family financially.
  

Sample of the Free Gratitude Journal Practice Printable.

(Get yours at the button below this image)

Click the button below for a free journal page printout.

Speak Gratitude Over Your Loved Ones

Be intentional to tell your family and friends why you are thankful for them and love them. If this isn’t a habit for you, start small. It can be as simple as Thank you for putting your dish in the sink or as deep as Thank you for being such a good husband to me and father to our kids. Proverbs 18:21 says Death and life are in the power of the tongue. So, speak to give your family, God, and yourself life. Speak life over your friends and family and thank them for who they are, how they are, and what they do.

Say “The Blessing”

Saying “the blessing” before a meal has been a tradition in my family for generations. However, I’ve admittedly dropped the ball on this in the past couple of years because we don’t sit down as a family very often, but I’m trying to revive it. If you aren’t familiar with this practice, it is a prayer thanking God for your food. It’s a simple and effective habit. For example, when I say the prayer, I thank God for the meal, request that it nourishes my body, thank the farmer/butcher/etc. for their role in the journey my food made to my table, and I thank God for what happened that day. So it is essentially a prayer of gratitude.

Gratitude with Friends

The next time you are with friends, intentionally talk about things you are grateful for and why. You can tell them what you’re doing (they may enjoy doing the same exercise) or naturally pepper it in your conversation. For example, you can say things like, thank you for meeting up with me today; you’re such a great friend. Or let’s celebrate your new job and I’d like to celebrate that it’s almost summer. The idea is to speak more gratitude and positivity into your day. It’s the opposite of gossip or complaining, which usually leaves us feeling down and a little gross.

Gratitude Quotes and Scripture

Below are some of my favorite quotes and scripture. I emphasized the idea around each quote/verse to make it easier to skim. Take one of these and post it to your mirror or make it a background for your phone. Just don’t put it on your car dashboard if you can’t see the speedometer like I did. That wasn’t functional for long.

“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.”
—Tecumseh

“All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.” – 2 Corinthians 4:15

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” —William Arthur Ward

“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

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” – Philippians 4:6

“Reflect upon your present blessings—of which every man has many—not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.” —Charles Dickens

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” – Psalm 28:7

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.” – Psalm 107:1

Gratitude for moms can be hard simply because we have so many balls in the air at one time, especially if your kids are younger. That said, a practice of gratitude can create a heart of gratitude, which pays dividends of wellness and happiness.