30 Gratitude Quotes That Inspire Us to Be More Appreciative
Cultivating an attitude of gratitude can have major benefits for your mental and physical health. That’s why we’ve compiled 30 inspiring quotes on the topic—words of wisdom from everyone from Yogi Bhajan and Deepak Chopra to Michelle Obama.
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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
See also YJ Gratitude Challenge: 5 Things on Janet Stone’s List
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
See also YJ Gratitude Challenge: 6 Things on Robert Sturman’s List
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
See also Gratitude for the Path: “Yoga Teacher Training Changed My Life”
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