If you were asked to make a gratitude list, you would probably lead with family…friends…or…health. Although I am indeed thankful for those things, I want to move beyond habitual expressions of thanks and seek out gratitude with more intention. These 30 gratitude prompts can be used in leading up to Thanksgiving, or as a specific exercise to deepen gratitude any time of year.
30 Days of Gratitude Prompts
Previously, our family made a thanksgiving tree as a visual reminder of our thankfulness. I’m looking forward to displaying our thanksgiving tree again this year, but want to go a little deeper than one word responses to “what are you thankful for?” This list of 30 days of gratitude prompts are one-word topics intended to provoke a response of gratitude in every area of life.
If you want a pretty place to write all the thankful things, check out my 30 days of thankful printables. You’ll get journaling pages to record 30 things you’re thankful for, plus, 12 beautiful scripture cards.
Daily Gratitude Prompts
Here are 30 words to use as gratitude prompts this season. Reflect on each word or phrase throughout the day, and write down your thoughts in a journal.
Day 1: Nature
What about the natural world sparks gratitude in you? Does the sound of waves calm you? Do you love to stargaze? Maybe you’ve survived the devastation of a natural disaster and experienced people helping one another in heroic ways. You may love learning about the interesting ways our bodies and minds are connected. Spend today thinking about nature in any way it occurs to you, and reflect on your gratitude. You may also want to write your thoughts as a prayer of response in gratitude to God.
Day 2: Friendship
Today, let’s go a little beyond being thankful for friends. Think about what makes a good friendship. What qualities draw you to another person? Have you been a good friend to others? Are you deeply grateful for a long-ago friendship that changed your life in some meaningful way? What about your spouse’s friends? Or your kids’ friends? Are there specific ways you can express gratitude for those who enrich the lives of those closest to you? You may want to write a note of thanks to a friend today, describing the particular ways they have impacted your life.
Day 3: Technology
We tend to take for granted the benefits we receive from technology, while eagerly blaming technology for rampant identity theft, lack of social skills in teens, or just feeling always “on.” For today, consider the ways technology improves your life. What can you be thankful for? Think about the many things you use each day. How does technology make that possible?
Constant negativity will not put a smile on your face, lighten your mood, or your load. It’s up to you to reframe your thought processes to accentuate the positive. We’re not talking about a fake “everything is awesome” smile that ignores the reality of suffering, sorrow, and just plain hard days. But you probably won’t find gratitude if you’re not looking for it. On the other hand, when you start looking, you’ll find it in everything.
Day 4: Childhood
Try a little free association exercise with the word CHILDHOOD. What comes to mind? Are they pleasant words, negative words? Can you think of a specific way to associate gratitude with the word childhood? Did you have specific traditions in your family that you recall from your childhood? Are there words or phrases you remember your parents using? Maybe you remember a teacher that just “got” you, or the freedom of summers playing in the back yard. How do you feel gratitude as it relates to childhood?
Day 5: Necessities
What do you consider a necessity? Food, water, shelter, human interaction, electricity, iPhones? If you put everything you consider essential on one side of a giant scale, and everything else in your life on the other side, does it produce any gratitude in you? What does it make you grateful for? Could you still be grateful without something you think is a necessity? Spend some time today thinking about what is truly necessary in your life, and journal about your gratitude for those things.
Day 6: Senses
Back to kindergarten…who can name your five senses? Sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Take a little time today to think about each one of these senses. It’s possible you don’t have all five, but most of us probably do. How can you be grateful for your ability to see and observe? Your ability to hear, smell, taste, or touch? We could spend 30 days right here! (New project idea – 30 days of gratitude prompts focused on our senses!)
Day 7: Movement
Did you get out of bed today? Can you swallow your food today? Do you remember the exhilaration of racing down a hill and being amazed your legs could keep you upright? How can you find gratitude in movement today? Have you been moved by an emotional dance performance? Are you inspired by Olympic athletes? Think about some ways the word “movement” produces gratitude in you today.
Day 8: Creativity
I’m so inspired by the creativity of those around me. I love to read about scientific discoveries, to watch documentaries about the creative process, and to listen to interviews with entrepreneurs who developed a new product. Equally inspiring to me is seeing the creativity bubbling away in my kids as they build with LEGO or construct a complex obstacle course. For today, focus on the word “creativity” and see what aspects of creating cause you to respond with gratitude.
Day 9: Weekends
This one seems easy enough, but dig a little deeper into what makes you thankful for a weekend. Do you recall a perfect weekend getaway? Maybe a weekend that someone else chose to sacrifice to help you move or watch your kids? Get specific about what makes you thankful for weekends.
Day 10: Family
Family is the word that I most closely associate with the word thankful. It’s not hard for me to feel gratitude for my hard-working husband, my precious kiddos, or my supportive extended family. My intention for today is to contemplate what is most valuable to me about family, and how that overflows into gratitude. Does your uncle always have the best stories? Do you feel complete acceptance and unconditional love from your grandma? Maybe your husband takes the kids to the park once a month and you get the house to yourself. Express thankfulness for the ways your family serves, encourages, and delights you.
Day 11: Beauty
Today’s word is “beauty,” and some of us may have a complicated relationship with the word. What do you consider beautiful? Take some time to think about what you associate with beauty. Do you immediately think of beautiful people, colors, sounds, or images? Does beauty evoke particular feelings in you? What specific aspect of beauty can you be thankful for today?
Day 12: Work
We seem to bring a whole lot of negative connotations to the word “work,” but there’s a whole lot to be thankful for in this word. According to dictionary.com, work is exertion or effort directed to produce or accomplish something. We were meant to work, to produce and make and accomplish. Spend a little time today thinking about your attitude toward work. Try to think of a time you were engaged in a project that felt thrilling, useful, or important. Use the word “work” as a gratitude prompt for expressing thankfulness for the ways work has provided tangible or emotional benefits to you.
Day 13: Play
Yesterday we considered work, and today we will think about play. Do you have any hobbies? Did you ever? What did you “play” at in years past that brought you joy? What do you consider play? Do you love to do crossword puzzles? Or maybe Crossfit? Is there anything you do just for fun, without any motivation other than enjoyment? Are you grateful for the broad variety of options available to you for entertainment? Do you feel gratitude for the ability to lose yourself in a novel on a Saturday morning? Write about your thankfulness for play.
Day 14: Food
We probably have opinions about our favorite food, favorite dessert, or favorite restaurant. Take a little extra time today to think about the supply chains that got that food to you. Maybe you have a garden that produces a bounty of delicious, healthy food each summer. Consider the association you have of specific foods with an occasion, a person, or an activity. Use these thoughts to contemplate your gratitude for food today and journal about it.
Day 15: Home
Home is my happy place. I’m an introverted homebody who likes nothing more than canceled plans and my familiar place. Today I intend to think about what makes me feel at home. Is there a particular room in your house that you love to spend time in? Do you get excited about having a place to entertain friends and build shared memories? Do you feel nostalgic for your childhood and try to recreate those feelings in your home? Think about how your home inspires gratitude today.
Day 16: Hardship
It may sound strange to ask you to relate gratitude to hardship, but according to Robert Eamons of the Greater Good Science Center at Berkeley, expressing gratitude while under difficult conditions has the power to energize, heal, and bring hope. Most of us are feeling some level of hardship right now, as this year has brought tremendous upheaval to our lives. What can we be thankful for through and in the hardship? Have you experienced tragedy and found strength you didn’t know you had? Received support and love you didn’t know was there? Take time today to reflect on hardship and how it has produced gratitude in some way.
Day 17: Memories
Today’s word will be a trip down memory lane. Spend time thinking about some of your favorite memories. Why are they your favorite? Are there connecting strands between favorite memories? Do they involve the same people, the same place, or a specific period of your life? Journal about your thankfulness for these happy memories.
Day 18: Accomplishments
Don’t shy away from this word. Think about what you consider accomplishments in your life. Have you overcome a fear? Did your kids turn out ok? Maybe you came in 2nd at your 8th grade science fair and felt very proud of yourself. Don’t worry about what anyone else would think. This is personal. Acknowledge your accomplishments today and express gratitude for something you did well.
Day 19: Gifts
Have you ever received a thoughtful gift? Or perhaps someone did you a tiny favor at just the right moment, and it meant so much. Maybe you have been in a position to give a costly gift to someone else. Take today to think back to gifts given and received, and let your thankfulness grow as you realize how much you’ve been given.
Day 20: Relationships
Relationships are the source of our greatest joys and our deepest pain. Think about what elements of your relationships bring you joy and connection. Have you joined a group with shared interests? Did you love deep conversations and debate during your college years? Do you remember a childhood friend who felt like a sister? Let yourself contemplate relationships today with the purpose of producing gratitude for the way your relationships have impacted you in a positive way.
Day 21: Favorites
We’re keeping it light-hearted today and focusing on favorites. Books, colors, dogs, food, games, movies, anything! Think about how your favorite things increase your enjoyment of life. Be thankful for those things. Think specifically of one favorite thing, and journal about your gratitude around that thing.
Day 22: Smiles
A smile is so powerful. Let’s think about what makes you smile. Is there a person you can always count on for a good laugh? Do you smile without fail when you see kids jumping in puddles? Can you recall a day that felt miserable until you received a genuine smile and hello? Spend time today thinking about how it feels to have a friendly smile directed toward you and feel grateful for it.
Day 23: Holidays
What holidays do you love? Why do you love them? What noises, smells, or sights do you associate with your favorite holiday? Think about one holiday in as much detail as you can today. How can you express gratitude for one small aspect of that holiday?
Day 24: Failure
Phrases such as “fail big” or “fail up” are heard frequently these days. Think about what you have learned from failure. Did a career failure take you in a new, better direction? Maybe you failed a test and realized that you do need to study after all? Is there a lesson you can learn or a way you can use that failure to prevent others from making the same mistake? Failure can be a huge opportunity for gratitude if we look for it.
Day 25: Experiences
What comes to mind when you hear the word “experiences”? Do you think of fun vacation moments, or tough obstacles? If I asked you what the most valuable or memorable experiences of your life have been, then what comes to mind? What about if I ask you to think of a single experience where you felt the most contentment? An experience that made you feel successful? How about an experience that you wish you could recreate? Choose an experience to focus on, or a commonality between experiences, and write about your thankfulness for it.
Day 26: Aging
There’s no stopping it or avoiding it, so we might as well look for the ways we can be thankful for it. What lessons have you learned over the years? Do you have a valuable piece of advice for those a few years behind you? How has your confidence or self-awareness increased as you age? For today, think about ways you can express gratitude around the idea of aging.
Day 27: Music
In 2019, scientists at Harvard published a study supporting the idea that music is the universal language of humankind. How has music impacted your life? Do you vividly recall exactly where you were when you first heard a particular song? Are there certain songs that always bring tears to your eyes? Why do you feel an instant connection with someone who shares your taste in music? Journal about the way music has created emotional responses in you and your gratefulness for the experience.
Day 28: Simplicity
Minimalism is a buzzword nowadays, along with simple living, or essentialism. I want to think about simplicity not as a lifestyle, but as an appreciation for things that are often overlooked. Think about your last 24 hours. Scroll back through your day and consider what simple things you can be thankful for. Did you wake up in a comfortable, cozy bed? How did that first swallow of coffee taste? Did your spouse load the dishwasher? Maybe you overheard your kids giggling and laughing together upstairs. Try to remember a few simple things that bring thankfulness to you today.
Day 29: Generosity
Most of us are naturally thankful when we are the recipient of a generous gift. Remember a time when someone was unexpectedly generous to you. That person chose to use their time, energy, or money for your benefit. What about their generosity speaks most deeply to you? Are you a naturally generous person? What do you find most easy to give – time or money? Have you read or watched a news story about a stranger’s generosity and been deeply moved by their actions? Think about a specific instance of generosity and how it creates thankfulness in your heart.
Day 30: God
I hope that by participating in the past 29 days of gratitude prompts you have considered gratitude in new and deeper ways than you have before. Today we are focusing on thankfulness to God. Do you regularly express thanksgiving to God? Have you ever? Here are a few aspects of God’s character to consider: love, mercy, grace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, power, unchanging, creative. How can you express gratitude to God for one of these attributes today?
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30 Journal Prompts to Inspire Gratitude
Such an awesome list. It’s so sad that I overlook these things sometimes, but I’m definitely working on being more grateful, because everything is a blessing!
Sometimes I take things for granted and that’s such a terrible thing to do. I realize as I get older and contemplating my life, I wished I could go back in time and just be grateful! Just like anyone else, I too am working on being more grateful and showing kindness to others.
I agree – it is easy to get caught up in day-to-day life and overlook how much we have to be thankful for.
Thank you! I am trying to model thankfulness for my kids. We are very blessed.
I may need to replace childhood with something else…. My childhood either makes me sad or angry
I’m so sorry to hear that. I know that every single one of us has words that bring up negative feelings when we hear them. Perhaps you could turn it around to think about that word in the sense of having completed that phase of your life. Gratitude that you came through something difficult and survived. Or gratitude that you are able to choose something different for you life now. My very best to you…and prayer for you to find peace.
Great idea! It’s been a long year and it’s hard to remember to be happy/thankful. It’s a great idea and a great list!
This is such an awesome post. We need reminders of the positives in our lives. I know 2020 has been a challenging year, but there are a few things that I can think of to be grateful about.
This post is beautiful! I definitely need reminders to pause and be thankful for everything that I have. Thank you for sharing!
I love this list and suggestions!!! It’s a great way to reflect on the year and prepare for the upcoming year. The holiday season is such a rush and a blur and I love having daily reminders on what to reflect and be greatful for. I can’t wait to do it this season
Thank you! I think that sometimes the worse I feel, the more I need to look for something to be thankful for, or I can spiral down into despair.
Thanks, Alyssa. I’m trying to pay attention to the little things especially these days.
I love every single one of these ideas!
Great post. As a Canadian our Thanksgiving is in October but these 30 prompts are so lovely. Thx for sharing.
I love that this challenge helps us go beyond our usual top 3 or however many. My husband and the internet dominate my daily list, and while that means I love them both (haha) there is a whole world of gratitude beyond them! Thanks for this post <3
I am originally from Canada, and I so wish we celebrated thanksgiving in October here in the States!
Yes, that’s exactly why I wanted to come up with a list to get me beyond the same things I always say!
This is awesome! I feel like I always write the same things in my gratitude journal which causes me to occasionally abandon it. Very helpful! Thank you!