30 Gratitude Quotes That Inspire Us to Be More Appreciative

Gratitude is a powerful form of mindfulness. Recording what you are grateful for and going out of your way to thank the people in your life can improve your mental and physical health, boost happiness, reduce depression, and even improve your relationships, according to a growing body of research on gratitude.

Cultivating an attitude of gratitude can be particularly helpful for those who have depressive or self-defeating thoughts, as well as those with a reactive personality who habitually notice everything that’s wrong in a situation.

In your yoga practice, you can express gratitude by setting an intention to appreciate every moment, making your movements an offering, counting your blessings instead of your breath, and focusing on the positive.

Cultivating this attitude of gratitude off the mat is just as important, and can be a tough thing to pull off when life gets busy.

That’s why we’ve compiled 30 inspiring gratitude quotes—words of wisdom from everyone from Yogi Bhajan and Deepak Chopra to Michelle Obama—that inspire us to keep up our daily gratitude practice.

See also Two Fit Moms: 8 Poses to Illuminate Your Blessings

30 Gratitude Quotes That Inspire Us to Be More Appreciative

The attitude of gratitude is the highest yoga.

—Yogi Bhajan

See also YJ Gratitude Challenge: Build a Simple Daily Practice

It is through gratitude for the present moment that the spiritual dimension of life opens up.

—Eckhart Tolle

We learned about gratitude and humility—that so many people had a hand in our success, from the teachers who inspired us to the janitors who kept our school clean … and we were taught to value everyone’s contribution and treat everyone with respect.

—Michelle Obama

Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.

—Thich Nhat Hanh

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.

—Epicurus

See also Ignite Your Practice: 12 Inspirational Quotes for Yogis

Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.

—Eckhart Tolle

You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance.

—Kahlil Gibran

See also 3 Steps to Cultivate Selfless Gratitude

An attitude of gratitude brings great things.

—Yogi Bhajan

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Gratitude opens the door to…the power, the wisdom, the creativity of the universe. You open the door through gratitude.

—Deepak Chopra

See also YJ Gratitude Challenge: Heart-Is-Full Flow

If you only say one prayer in a day, make it thank you.

—Rumi

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I was complaining that I had no shoes till I met a man who had no feet.

—Confucius

See also DIY Thanksgiving Centerpiece: Build a Gratitude Tree

Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.

—A.A. Milne

See also Mom-asana: Opening Your Heart to Gratitude

But listen to me. For one moment quit being sad. Hear blessings dropping their blossoms around you.

—Rumi

See also YJ Gratitude Challenge: 5 Things on Tiffany Cruikshank’s List

There are always flowers for those who want to see them.

—Henri Matisse

See also YJ Gratitude Challenge: 4 Things on Jason Crandell’s List

Gratitude is an opener of locked-up blessings.

—Marianne Williamson

See also YJ Gratitude Challenge: 7 Things on Kathryn Budig’s List

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.

—Albert Einstein

See also 5 Mindfulness Practices to Rewire Your Brain and Improve Health

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

See also 5 Poses That Fill YJ Readers With Gratitude

Have gratitude for the things you’re discarding. By giving gratitude, you’re giving closure to the relationship with that object, and by doing so, it becomes a lot easier to let go.

—Marie Kondo

See also Coral Brown’s Do-Anywhere Daily Mindfulness + Gratitude Practice

Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.

—Marcel Proust

See also Gratitude Practice: The Power of a Handwritten Thank You Note

Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.

—Aesop

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Wear gratitude like a cloak and it will feed every corner of your life.

—Rumi

See also 10 Quotes to Remember T.K.V. Desikachar By

I’m grateful for always this moment, the now, no matter what form it takes.

—Eckhart Tolle

See also 7 Yin Yoga Poses to Cultivate Gratitude

Reflect upon your present moment of blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes of which all men have some.

—Charles Dickens

See also 5 Ways To Practice Compassion—and Get Better at It

O Lord that lends me life, Lend me a heart replete with thankfulness!

—William Shakespeare

See also Taylor Harkness’s Gratitude-Rockstar Side Plank Pose

Gratitude unlocks all that’s blocking us from really feeling truthful, really feeling authentic and vulnerable and happy.

—Gabrielle Bernstein

See also Justin Michael Williams’s 5-Minute A.M. Gratitude Practice

Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving.

—Kahlil Gibran

See also Sianna Sherman’s “Honey-in-the-Heart” Gratitude Practice

The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.

—Dalai Lama

See also Kino MacGregor’s Love-Your-Hips Gratitude Practice

May the work of your hands be a sign of gratitude and reverence to the human condition.

—Mahatma Gandhi

See also How Yoga Can Help You Be More Mindful in the Digital Age

May the gratitude in my heart kiss all the universe.

—Hafiz

See also Bless Your Food with Gratitude

The best way to show my gratitude to God is to accept everything, even my problems, with joy.

—Mother Teresa

See also A Practice of Gratitude