I have a hard time with what I am grateful for. Life has not been good to me.

I’m grateful for simple things, even clean water, and healthcare, and freedom of religion or voting, and not being ‘only allowed out with a male relative’. I’m grateful for my cat, and a comfortable bed, and not living in a war zone. I’m grateful for food, and sunlight, and my own beliefs. I’m grateful to be able to choose being kind, and of living away from abusive people. I’m grateful for my phone and the freedom it offers me, and the people I’ve learned to love. My friends would tell you I’ve lived the hardest life they’ve known anyone survive, but I’m grateful for all the lessons I’ve learned, and for the people who matter, who value me the right way. Yes, many terrible, soul destroying things have happened to me, but I can choose to look forward, not back. I’m grateful to still be alive, to be able to find the sun again, and meet people who feel the same as I do. I’ve carefully built a small group of friends who will help when I need them to, and who also believe in helping ‘just because you can’. In this modern world, not every interaction has to be a transaction, and not everyone is like that. It’s easier to meet them in places of community, rather than businesses, but there’s a lot of us out there, near you too. Just because life ‘hasn’t’ been kind doesn’t mean it ‘won’t’. Tomorrow is a new day, and new things are a blessing. Tomorrow night, you could be grateful for one of them. Good luck.

I’m sorry life has not been good for you and I can understand it’s hard to identify things you might be grateful for. When things are tough for me I find this too and I don’t do the habit as much, but when I do I try point out very small things, like the feeling of soft sheets on my bed, the friendly conversation the local cafe owner always makes, the smell of my candle, a really good song, the sunlight on my face and the warmth it gives. Hope that helps 🙂

When life feels that heavy, gratitude can sound almost insulting — like, really? But the shift doesn’t start with the big stuff. It starts with a glass of water. A hot shower you actually pause inside of. Something so small it feels insignificant. That’s the whole trick. Because slowly, those tiny moments start to change the story from life is happening to me to life is happening for me — and the challenges start to feel like lessons instead of punishments. Start small. That’s how the habit gets built.

It is hard for me to come up with what I am grateful for. Things never work out for me. Happiness is elusive for all my life. If it was not for my fur babies, I would have nothing to be grateful for. I am working on it though. It will just take some time.

I also have a hard time with what I am grateful for. Sometimes life kicks you right in the gut. Especially if things are going well. I know this. It is hard. But I am grateful to have people that love me and want to help me when I am hurting inside. Those same people might not be able to solve the issue you are having, but they are still there to talk to and support you. Be grateful for that. Be grateful for the experiences you have had. I know life is hard sometimes. But if you don’t look at what you should be grateful for while you have it, you are going to be hurting for a long time when you lose it. Things can, and sometimes will, get worse. But be grateful for the good things in your life, no matter how small. I should have been grateful for something. Instead I wasn’t, and now I am in a bad situation. If I had just been grateful and looked on the good side, things would be so much better right now. If I was more grateful, my life would be better. Be grateful. Don’t let life beat you down. I thought life was not the best before. But if you are not grateful, life seems to find a way to make things worse. Now my life is worse than it was. In hindsight, I should have been grateful for what I had. It was something good. It wasn’t the best, but it was good. But I wasn’t grateful. If you are not grateful, life will be upset and take what is good away from you. Then you realize things weren’t so bad before and that you should have been grateful. Is it cruel? I think it is. But I am grateful I still have a chance to move on. It hurts. Bad. So bad you don’t want to go on. But be grateful for being able to see another day. Be grateful for those people that are willing to try to help. And once things are sort of back to normal, be grateful. Will things be as good as before? Maybe, maybe not. But if you aren’t grateful, they won’t ever get better.

Close your eyes. Take three deep breaths. In through your nose, hold for a count of 3 then slowly exhale through your mouth to a count of 5. Open your eyes and be thankful for 3 things: the air and ability to breathe, maybe something you can see, and someone you know / love. Think about something you can do to help someone today. Maybe a phone call, card, or text. Find someone in worst shape than you and give them some encouragement. Drink water and take some time to do something you enjoy. Be patient and kind to yourself.

Be grateful for the smaller things, a meal, a sunny day, a cool breeze, the sound of rain, the taste of a piece of chocolate. Start small.

Gratitude starts with you. Especially when life has not been good to you. When you consistently have good things happen to you it’s easy to give examples of why you are grateful. It’s more powerful to be able to give examples of why you’re grateful when you have fought for and struggled through life. Like I said gratitude starts with you. You have to appreciate and be grateful for the fact that you survived everything that you’ve survived. You have to look for the opportunities and if they’re not there, create them for you not to just survive but to thrive. Start with you are grateful that you are alive… You are grateful that you have the opportunity to change your future… You are grateful that you have At least one thing in your life that makes you continue. And if you don’t have those things, then you go look for them. Because until you are grateful for your own existence, it’s hard to be grateful for anything that comes to you through hard work for the universe.

I’ll be honest gratitude has been hard for me. Life hasn’t always been kind, and there are moments where the pain, the disappointments, and the things I’ve gone through feel louder than anything good. There are times I’ve questioned why things had to happen the way they did.

But even in that truth, I’m starting to realize that my story didn’t break me it shaped me. I’m still here. I’ve made it through things that once felt impossible. Even when I felt weak, I kept going, and that strength is something I can be grateful for.

I may not always feel thankful for what I’ve been through, but I can be grateful for who I’m becoming because of it. I’m learning to find small things to hold onto moments of peace, growth, and clarity. Some days, gratitude looks like simply making it through the day, and I’m learning that’s enough.

I’m still growing, still healing, and still figuring it out and maybe that in itself is something to be grateful for.

I totally empathise on how that can feel. The feeling that no matter what you do you get tripped up and fall down in life. I wish there was a magic wand to make it all better. And I know all the quotes in the world don’t always help either. On my darkest days when I am struggling to find the light of gratitude I honestly can only put my hand on my chest (where I often feel anxious) and feel my heartbeat. I then say to myself that I am grateful for the beating of my heart, the air in my lungs and the blood in my veins. I then look around me and literally say I am grateful for the most everyday things that I take for granted. I am grateful for the food on my plate, the roof over my head, the sky above etc etc. it isn’t a magic wand but I promise it lets a few shreds of light in. Know that you are not alone. Keep your chin up.