By: Jaquelyn Sortino
Published October 16, 2024
In a fast- paced world where distractions are everywhere, practicing gratitude can be a powerful tool to bring families closer, encourage personal growth, and improve overall mental well-being. Gratitude isn’t just about saying “Thank you.” It’s about recognizing the value in the small moment, celebrating life’s lessons, and nurturing a mindset of abundance rather than scarcity. And the best part? It’s something the entire family can practice together. Here is how you can cultivate gratitude in your own home, no matter your family's background, age, or experience.
1. The Power of Affirmations
Affirmations are positive statements that help you challenge and overcome negative thoughts. By repeating them daily, you begin to shift your mindset from what’s missing in life to what is abundant. As a family, you can start each day with a shared affirmation. Something as simple as, “We are grateful for each other and the love we share,” can create a ripple effect that shapes your day. For younger kids or teenagers, affirmations can be more personal, such as, “I am capable, I am loved, and I am enough.” These affirmations help build confidence, focus and emotional strength- qualities today’s youth need more than ever. When I am doing my affirmations, I select I topic I am struggling with, ex: getting going in the morning, feeling positive, or less stressed. Then I say about ten to twelve affirmations on that topic in a two-to-three-minute time frame. Perhaps it’s while I am drinking my morning coffee or I will turn off the music while I am driving and make a commitment to set a time for two minutes to say my affirmations.
Start small by sharing one affirmation per day and watch how it changes the way your family approaches challenges, stress, and opportunities. Consistency is key, and with time, you’ll notice the shift in the energy of your home.
2. Journaling Gratitude: A Family Tradition
One of the most powerful ways to practice gratitude is through journaling. For children, teens, and adults alike, writing down what we’re grateful for at the end of the day can deepen our appreciation for both big and small moments. It’s an excellent way to slow down, reflect, and reconnect. Create a family gratitude journal where each member writes three things they’re thankful for each night. You can make it a creative activity for the kids by adding drawings or stickers. For teenagers, it’s a chance to dive deeper into their emotions and recognize how their experiences shape who they are becoming. Journaling is a safe space to express feelings without judgment, and overtime, this practice can foster greater emotional resilience. Encourage everyone to write about something they learned, an act of kindness they witness, or even a simple joy like a good meal. The goal isn’t perfection but presence.
“Based on positive psychology research, practicing gratitude can actually increase how often someone experiences desirable emotions such as happiness, pride and contentment. It can also decrease more challenging emotions such as anxiety and depression. “The way you think can be powerful!” Says Elizabeth.
Therapeutic approaches such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) often encourage changing the way you think in order to positively impact your emotions and actions. If your child is always focusing on what they didn’t achieve or get, they may start to think negatively about themself and lose hope.” https://health.choc.org/practicing-gratitude-can-benefit-kids-mental-health/
3. EFT Tapping: A Powerful Tool for Emotional Well-Being
Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Tapping is a form of acupressure where you tap on specific meridian points on your body while focusing on an emotion or affirmation. This technique is effective in releasing emotional blocks, reducing stress, and helping the body restore balance. Incorporating EFT into family life can be a transformative experience, especially for those dealing with anxiety, grief, or difficult transitions. It’s a gentle yet powerful practice for young people who may struggle to express their emotions verbally. Through tapping, they can release pent-up frustration, fear, or sadness and replace it with calm, clarity, and gratitude. For myself personally I launched a zoom three- four times a week to get together and practice mindful moments. For forty-five minutes, some close friends, my mom and I, would focus on gratitude, affirmations, I am statements, a daily six list, followed by tapping. I found this was a great way to put our minds in a positive and intentional headspace.
Here’s how you can introduce EFT as a family:
· Choose a specific emotion to focus on, such as frustration or sadness.
· Tap together as you say positive affirmations like, “Even though I feel frustrated, I deeply and completely accept myself,” or “I choose to be grateful for the lessons this challenge is teaching me.”
· Allow each person to share how they feel before and after tapping. You’ll likely notice a sense of calm and connection afterward.
EFT tapping, when paired with affirmations, can help both adults and children more through difficult emotions with grace, replacing stress with gratitude.
4. Creating a Family Gratitude Practice
For gratitude to become a daily practice, it needs to feel accessible and enjoyable for everyone involved. This is something I try to fit into my daily schedule first thing in the morning during my “Mindful Moments.” Establishing gratitude has helped me focus on the positive rather than the negative in the world and in my own life. Here are some simple ways to start practicing gratitude as a family:
· Gratitude Jar: Place a jar in a central location and invite family members to add notes of gratitude throughout the week. At the end of the week, read the notes together, and celebrate those moments of thankfulness.
· Mindful Meals: Before eating, have each family member share something they’re grateful for. This practice encourages mindfulness and appreciation for the food, as well as the hands that prepared it.
· Gratitude Walks: Go on a family walk and encourage each person to point out the things they’re grateful for, whether it’s the beauty of nature, the fresh air, or the time spent together.
· Gratitude Discussions: Use moments like car rides or family dinners to share what you appreciate about one another. Open, loving communication is a powerful way to reinforce gratitude and connection.
5. Why Gratitude Matters
Gratitude isn’t just about feeling good in the moment; it’s about building a mindset that fosters resilience, empathy, and contentment. For today’s youth who are constantly bombarded with unrealistic expectations, gratitude offers a healthy way to ground themselves in what truly matters, it helps them break free from comparison, reduces anxiety, and cultivates emotional intelligence. For diverse families, gratitude can also be a unifying practice that transcends cultural, generational, and linguistic barriers. It reminds us that no matter where we come from, gratitude is a universal language that connects us all.
Practicing gratitude as a family is more than a trend; it’s a lifestyle that promotes emotional well-being, resilience, and a deeper connection to one another. Whether through affirmations, journaling, or EFT tapping, the benefits of gratitude are accessible to all ages and backgrounds. As a Peer Mentor and an aspiring Life Coach, I encourage you to start small, be consistent and create a gratitude practice that feels authentic to your family. Over time, you’ll see how this simple act can transform the way you approach life’s challenges, and you’ll discover the beauty in everyday moments- together. Remember, gratitude isn’t about having it all; it’s about recognizing that you already do.
Comments