20 Gratitude Exercises & Activities to Boost Wellbeing

Gratitude is more than simply saying thank you.

It’s a powerful practice that can boost happiness, improve relationships, and enhance overall wellbeing.

Incorporating gratitude exercises and activities into daily routines can help students and adults alike develop a positive mindset, resilience, and emotional awareness.

Whether practiced in classrooms, at home, or in personal settings, gratitude encourages reflection on the positive aspects of life and fosters a sense of appreciation.

Activities such as gratitude journaling, creating thank-you notes, and sharing moments of gratitude can strengthen connections and promote kindness. By integrating these gratitude exercises into daily life, individuals can cultivate a habit of gratitude, leading to lasting emotional and psychological benefits.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Gratitude Exercises for free. These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients connect to more positive emotions and enjoy the benefits of gratitude.

Small Acts, Big Returns: Why Being Grateful Matters

Research highlights that being grateful reduces stress and anxiety (Hartanto et al., 2022; Cheng et al., 2015; Meyer & Stutts, 2023). In addition, gratefulness improves focus and fosters a sense of community (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).

Research also supports that consistent gratitude practices can increase optimism and improve overall mental health (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).

Whether you’re looking to inspire students, strengthen family bonds, or enhance your own wellbeing, these gratitude exercises offer simple yet impactful ways to create lasting positive change.

How to Practice Gratitude: The Basics

Gratitude, also referred to as gratefulness, involves intentionally recognizing and appreciating the positive aspects of life.

Foundational ways to cultivate gratitude include journaling, expressing appreciation in various ways, practicing mindfulness, focusing on abundance, and engaging in acts of kindness.

Gratitude is the psychological inclination to acknowledge and value positive experiences or outcomes, particularly those stemming from the support or kindness of others (Wood et al., 2009).

This recognition is expressed through cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses (Ferretti & Papaleo, 2018). The broaden-and-build theory suggests that positive emotions like gratitude play a crucial role in building enduring personal resources, such as resilience, by fostering growth and adaptability (Fredrickson, 2001).

Gratitude exercises are versatile and can be adapted for individuals or groups, making them ideal for classrooms, counseling, or personal growth activities. From journaling and gratitude jars to acts of kindness and mindful reflections, these activities create meaningful opportunities for self-expression and emotional development.

4 Gratitude Exercises & Activities to Try Today

Like any skill, gratitude must be practiced to be cultivated and to reap the true benefits. Below are a few exercises and activities to help you strengthen your gratitude.

1. Gratitude list

Gratitude lists are one of the most commonly researched interventions for gratitude (Emmons & McCullough, 2003). This practice is quite basic and requires individuals to list things they are grateful for.

Purol and Chopik’s (2024) study of gratitude interventions concluded that participants only needed to list three items to experience the effectiveness of this practice. For maximum benefits, this strategy can be practiced daily.

2. Gratitude journal

A gratitude journal is a wonderful way to instill mindfulness and encourage people to pause and think about things they are grateful for. It is also an excellent source to look back on during difficult times as a reminder of positive events.

To learn more about journaling for the purpose of gratitude, watch these recommendations from Marie Forleo.

3. Gratitude jar

A gratitude jar is also an effective method of documenting and reflecting on the positives in life. Writing down things you are grateful for on small slips of paper and placing them in a jar every day will help instill a daily ritual of practicing gratitude.

At the end of the week or month, reading through the slips of paper will help provide a reminder of the positives.

4. Thank-you letters or notes

Something as simple as a heartfelt letter or note to someone who has made a difference in your life can be an impactful pursuit of gratitude.

Expressing appreciation for kindness or making an impact can benefit the person expressing gratitude and have a waterfall effect and inspire others to practice gratitude.

For Your Clients: 3 Gratefulness Worksheets

If journaling has sparked your interest, our Gratitude Journal worksheet will help you to organize your thoughts.

There are specific sections for listing 10 things you are grateful for, five people you are grateful for, an area to describe what you are learning while completing the journal, and a location to document the best part of your day.

Expressing gratitude to others is a critical element in experiencing the positive effects of gratitude. Use our Expressing Gratitude to Others worksheet as a step-by-step plan to help clients demonstrate gratitude.

To help clients take a deeper look into gratitude, we suggest our Self-Assessment for Assertiveness Self-Discovery. This worksheet requires careful introspection and prompts clients to evaluate things they love about themselves, challenges they’ve overcome, and people who have helped them to get where they are.

6 Gratitude Activities for Students

Practicing gratitude can have a profound impact on students’ wellbeing, fostering positivity, resilience, and stronger connections with peers (Fredrickson, 2001).

Gratitude activities encourage students to reflect on the positive aspects of their lives. It also promotes emotional regulation and a sense of belonging in the classroom. Start with a few of these activities.

1. Gratitude book

Create a classroom gratitude book for each student to take home and add a page of pictures and descriptions of what they’re grateful for. Switch out each week so every student has the opportunity to add a page.

2. Thank-you gift for home

Take a picture of each student holding a large piece of paper with one thing they are grateful for written on it. Frame the picture and send it home as a gift to parents.

3. Classroom collage

Create a class gratitude collage or bulletin board with pictures of things each student is grateful for. Students may cut out magazine pictures, search for pictures on the internet, or draw their own to include in the collage.

4. Gratitude chain

Using strips of paper, have each student write down something they are thankful for. The strips can be used to create a gratitude chain that can be hung around the classroom.

5. Special friends day

Before Thanksgiving, hold a “Special Friends Day” in which each student brings someone special to class. Each student can explain why they are thankful for this person. Celebrate the gratitude with a special snack.

6. Notes of gratitude

Have students create gratitude surprise sticky notes. Students write down something they’re grateful for about someone else around the school and then “deliver” the notes to the person’s locker, mailbox, or classroom door.

For more gratitude ideas for students, refer to this video by the Time Crunched Teacher.

Gratitude Lesson Ideas

Today’s classrooms extend beyond teaching literacy and numeracy, incorporating social and emotional learning into the curriculum. Introducing gratitude helps students develop valuable life skills. Below are resources to assist in planning effective gratitude lessons.

What is gratitude?

Begin with an initial activation of thinking exercise, such as “Think–Pair–Share,” to engage prior knowledge and brainstorm about gratitude. Then, students can watch a video, such as Gratitude HD – Moving Art, and jot down reflections on sticky notes. In pairs, students work through guiding questions, and the teacher introduces a book that is age-appropriate.

Students talk about what they liked, connected with, and were thankful for after reading the story.

Use photos, images, or visual talking cards to provide a starting point for a discussion about gratitude and sharing knowledge among the class. Before closing the lesson, use an ABC Brainstorm Template to generate a list of things students are grateful for (Heart-Mind online, 2014).

Acts of kindness (grades K–2)

This lesson is designed to give students the opportunity to identify ways in which they have acted with kindness and caring toward others (Zakrzewski, 2016).

First, explain to the class about feeling grateful and have a discussion. Then, have the students close their eyes and visualize someone they have been kind to or helped, recalling how this made them feel as well as what the other person said or did.

Ask students to open their eyes and share what they visualized. Then, ask students to draw a picture of what they visualized and write a caption to go with it. Alternatively, students could write a short paragraph about it.

To extend this lesson, older students could be encouraged to record times when they show kindness to others, the reasons why they did it, and how they feel in a gratitude journal. Alternatively, the class could be asked to discuss an act of kindness they could do for someone in the school, and the teacher could help them put this into action.

Food gratitude (grades 3–5)

In this lesson, the class lists as many different fruits as they can. Then they vote on which fruit is the favorite fruit for most people in the class (Zakrzewski, 2016).

Encourage students to visualize all the people and resources that made it possible for them to enjoy this fruit.

In groups of four, students discuss the visualization and, on a large piece of paper, draw all of the people, tools, and natural elements necessary to produce the fruit. As students draw, discuss the many people involved in the process of making the fruit available and prompt the class to think about how they would show gratitude to all of the people. They then add their thoughts to the drawing.

The following day, bring in some of the fruit that the students selected and ask them to think of all of the fruit’s properties and reflect upon all the people involved in its production.

Finally, before the class enjoys eating the fruit, invite them to recall the expressions of gratitude that they wrote on the drawings and to feel that gratitude.

People who made a difference (grades 6–8)

This exercise is designed to help students understand that they can feel gratitude to people whose actions benefit the whole of society, and these benefits can last for centuries (Zakrzewski, 2016).

Students identify a historical figure who did something that they feel grateful for. Help students visualize the person, what it would be like to be with them, and their sense of gratitude. Following this, students write an essay about what the person did that they were grateful for and consider the intention and motives of the person.

Students should also think about the cost of the figure’s actions, not only in terms of money but also more general personal sacrifices. Ask students to reflect upon how they have benefited from the person’s actions and how the whole of society may have benefited.

To conclude the lesson, the class can present brief summaries of the historical figures they researched.

Gratitude Games & Ideas for Kids

Kids learn best when they are engaged. Use the following games to practice gratitude habits in a fun and engaging way.

Our Gratitude Gifts worksheet may be a valuable resource for helping students relate gratitude to a concept that can bring us joy and happiness. This activity prompts kids to write or draw people or things they are grateful for on pictures of gifts.

Gratitude-sharing circles are beneficial in fostering community. In this exercise, students take turns sharing what they are grateful for while sitting or standing in a circle. This can help build positivity and connectivity among participants.

A gratitude walk outdoors could help students appreciate their surroundings. Nature, fresh air, and calming nature sounds can assist in encouraging mindfulness, which may help in practicing gratitude.

Make It Stick: 3 Tips for Creating a Daily Gratitude Practice

Making behaviors stick involves turning intentional actions into automatic behaviors that are consistently prompted by specific situations.

This process is essential for sustaining long-term goals and fostering lasting changes, such as embracing healthier habits.

1. Repetition

Repeating the same behavior within the same context until it becomes automatic is a key strategy in habit formation (Gardner et al., 2012; Lally & Gardner, 2013).

Over time, this repetition reduces the need for conscious effort or decision-making, allowing the behavior to become automatic. Repetition strengthens the habit loop and minimizes the cognitive load required to initiate the behavior, making it more sustainable.

2. Implementation intentions

Formulating specific plans about when and where to perform a new behavior can increase its frequency and automaticity, thus facilitating habit formation (Trenz & Keith, 2024).

Over time, the behavior becomes automatic as the brain associates the cue with the action, streamlining the habit-forming process. This approach is supported by research showing that implementation intentions enhance commitment and reduce the likelihood of procrastination or forgetfulness (Gollwitzer & Sheeran, 2006).

3. Use of technology

Smartphone apps and digital tools can help support habit change by encouraging repeated practice and tracking progress (Carden & Wood, 2018).

Smartphone apps and digital tools provide valuable support for habit change by facilitating repeated practice, tracking progress, and offering personalized feedback.

These tools can help establish consistency by sending reminders, offering rewards for milestones, and visualizing progress, which reinforce motivation. For a list of apps to support your gratitude journal, view our article Best Gratitude Apps to Increase Your Wellbeing.

Helpful Resources From PositivePsychology.com

PositivePsychology.com provides comprehensive resources on gratitude and appreciation. Let’s take a look.

The following articles are all interesting to read and each provides you with in-depth information.

• 30 Best Journaling Prompts for Improving Mental Health
• 7 Gratitude Questionnaires and Scales That Scientists Use
• 14 Benefits of Practicing Gratitude (Incl. Journaling)
• What is Gratitude and Why Is It So Important?

If you’re looking for more science-based ways to help others harness the benefits of gratitude, this collection contains 17 validated gratitude tools for practitioners. Use them to help others shift to a more positive mindset and experience the joys of life more deeply.

A Take-Home Message

Incorporating gratitude exercises and activities into daily life is a simple yet transformative practice that nurtures a positive outlook and fosters deeper connections with others.

By cultivating gratitude, we improve our emotional wellbeing and inspire a ripple effect of kindness and appreciation in the world around us.

Whether in classrooms, workplaces, or personal spaces, gratitude has the power to uplift, heal, and unite. By making gratitude a regular habit, we create opportunities to celebrate the beauty in the everyday and build a foundation for a more compassionate and fulfilling life.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Gratitude Exercises for free.

ED: Rewrite April 2025